You've Got a Friend in Me

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

By Topher Balfer

At Ochsner Hospital for Children, Ambassadors Offer Companionshipand Comfort to Pediatric Patients

Photo by Patricia Boehm

Steve Purcell, Senior Story and Creative Artist; John Lee, Art Director; Graham Finley, Animator; Alyssa Del Vigna, Community Relations Specialist; Britta

Wilson, Vice President of Inclusion Strategies

Of all the relationships that define and shape a child’s life — parents, siblings, neighbors and teachers — there are none quite like the bonds they share with their friends. A friend can be the difference between a good day or a bad day. They can make an ordinary situation into an occasion for laughter and imagination. And in the face of difficulties, a friend can provide the strength and courage necessary to overcome any obstacle. When a child requires extended medical care, meaning time away from school, and the normalcy of a routine, the disruption to their day-to-day lives can be frightening and overwhelming without friends by their sides. At Ochsner Hospital for Children, that’s where the Ambassadors

come in. Their mission is simple: to lend a helping hand, to share a smile and to offer some of the companionship and togetherness that children need.

Sharing a Smile Whitney Alford, Child Life Coordinator at Ochsner Hospital for Children, said that Ambassadors help to fulfill a therapeutic role in the lives of children by engaging them through reading and other activities. “The work of children is to play,” Whitney said. “It’s how they learn about the world around them and increase in cognitive, social, physical and emotional development. This can be

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limited in the hospital setting. Through therapeutic play and special events, we are able to create good memories to associate with hospitalization, instead of only hard ones.” Traci Lucas, Directory of Philanthropy at Ochsner Hospital for Children and one of the founders of the Ambassadors program, said there are several opportunities throughout the year for Ambassadors to become involved in the daily lives of pediatric patients. “Once a month, we have an Ambassador Story Time. We give the Ambassadors a list of patients they can visit, and they go to their rooms and ask if they can read a story,” she said. “It brings a little bit of a break in the monotony of a day for both the child and the parents.” Anyone can become an Ambassador. It starts with a philanthropic donation of at least $1,000. The funds collected from these gifts can make a substantial difference in the resources and facilities available to pediatric patients. “The gifts from the Ambassadors can make a big impact on a program or a project,” Traci said. “Each year, the gifts support one particular thing. In 2018, our inaugural year, gifts were dedicated to help with renovations in the Pediatric Emergency Department. This year, gifts are being earmarked for renovations in our Pediatric Hospital.” Billy Goliwas and his wife, Anne, are both Ambassadors who have offered philanthropic support and participated in the monthly story times. Supporting pediatric patients is personal to the Goliwas family. William, Billy and Anne’s son, was born prematurely at Ochsner and spent many of his first days in the hospital. Billy said that the situation was made easier by the dedicated care team. “We spent a lot of time at Ochsner with our son and grew to love the hospital and the people working there. Their effort

The Ochsner Flight Care Team waves excitedly for beads from a 2019 parade participant.

is just amazing,” he said. “We have stayed in touch with themthroughout the years, and when they reached out to us about

the Ambassador program, I was happy to participate. I’ve reallyenjoyed being part of it.”Billy said that one of his favorite parts of being an Ambassadorcomes after he’s finished reading a story, when he and thechild can talk about what they’ve just read.“It’s a great way for the kids to have some interaction at thehospital that’s not completely centered around the reasonthey’re there,” he said. “I think that brings a little comfort tothem, and it also allows the parents some time to gather themselves,take a little break and re-center on some things notdirectly associated with the children.”The difference this can make is tremendous, he said, even ifthe child’s reaction is as simple as a smile.“There’s nothing better than to see the smile of a child who’s in abad predicament,” he said. “It’s just so rewarding to be able to helpin any way, to create a level of comfort for those kids. I think thisis just one more step that Ochsner takes to make those kids andtheir parents feel as comfortable as they can while they’re there.”

Billy reading to patients during Ambassador Story Time.

Helping Hands for the Holidays In addition to the story times, Traci said that the Ambassadors partner with the Child Life team throughout the year to organize and host special holiday events. This way, pediatric patients are able to enjoy traditions that they might ordinarily miss in a hospital setting. “The volunteering at the hospital is all coordinated and done with the amazing help and work of Child Life,” Traci said. “Ambassadors will come help and help decorate wagons and wheelchairs to make them fun, festive Mardi Gras floats. Ambassadors help to push wheelchairs, roll IV poles and pull wagons, forming a parade that moves through the hallways. The kids will throw beads, cups and plush toys to “anyone and everyone they see.”

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patients or guests that happen to come to Ochsner and seethis wonderful event taking place for the kids.”

“Events like the parades are just so exciting for them to get outof their rooms,” said Donna Muller, Ambassador and EducationOutreach employee at Ochsner. “If they are able to participatein these parades, where they are the center of attention, I thinkthat gives them hope. Anything that makes them happy andgets their minds off of what’s going on is very healing. They canlaugh and smile and just be normal for a little bit.”During Easter, pediatric patients are brought down to theindoor visitor’s garden for an egg hunt, but Traci said the mostpopular event happens during Halloween.“It’s so amazing. Every year, we take donations of Halloweencostumes for kids who are in the hospital,” she said. “We put allof the kids in brand new Halloween costumes, put them in wagonsand wheelchairs, and then get Ambassadors and volunteersto help push all of the kids through this big route on the firstfloor of the hospital and our lobby.”

Steve Purcell draws characters from Toy Story 4 for a patient.

Following a “Trunk or Treat” format, participating hospital departmentsset up a station along the route, where kids can stop foranything from candy and goodies to bags filled with coloring books,toys and bubbles. The departments take it seriously, often decoratingtheir stations by theme and wearing group costumes. More than56 Ochsner departments participated in the parade in 2018.“It’s such a beautiful thing for the kids,” Traci said. “It brings alot of joy to them and lets them be kids. It’s fun for the familiesto participate and the employees love it, as well as all the other

The Visit of a Lifetime This July, pediatric patients were treated to an incredibly special event, one that had even Ochsner employees and Ambassadors excited: a visit from the Pixar Animation Studios team and a private screening of Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4. Traci explained that each time a new Pixar movie comes out, the team behind the film picks two cities, and then plans visits to pediatric hospitals in those cities. This year, Ochsner was contacted to host a screening, giving patients the chance to experience something that most kids can only dream about. “The whole focus is the kids. They’re really altruistic about this visit,” Traci said. “They bring several artists along for the screening and they go to the kids’ rooms and draw characters for them. It can be their favorite character, which doesn’t have to be a Disney character, since they understand that kids are kids.” After spending time in inpatient rooms, the artists also visited Ochsner’s pediatric outpatient clinic, so that oncology and infusion patients were able to spend time with the Pixar team, too. Then, employees and Ambassadors helped to gather the kids for their exclusive Toy Story 4 screening, something that Whitney said was an incredible way to make the families feel special in a welcoming space. “A private showing of a film like Toy Story 4, that is so new to the theaters, is exciting for patients because they might otherwise not get the opportunity to see it due to hospitalization,” Whitney said. “Patients and families get to come see a movie, eat some popcorn, and for a little while, they can forget that they are at Ochsner Hospital for Children.” The kids left the movie with fond memories, some goodies from Pixar and maybe even a new favorite character or two. With the invaluable support and friendship of the Ambassadors, and with the continued efforts to bring joy and excitement through Child Life programming, events like these are helping to ensure that no child feels like they’re missing out on life by making their wellness a priority. Instead, they are able to create new relationships, build positive memories, and take the steps toward a happy and healthy life. It turns out that there are friends everywhere you turn, even in the hospital. “With the support of the Ambassadors,” Whitney said, “we can continue educating, growing and celebrating milestones in patient’s journeys — to recovery and beyond.”

For more information about the Ambassadors for Ochsner Hospital for Children or how you can help, please visit ochsner.org/ambassadors o r contact Traci Lucas, Director of Development, at 504-842-6055 or traci.lucas@ochsner.org.

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