Celebrity Call-ins for Isolated Patients
Let kids be kids is a mantra of Child Life. Specialists in therapeutic play and connection, their expertise is needed now more than ever. And they’re being helped by celebrity friends of SickKids.
All patients whose care is non-essential are at home with their families. The patients still at SickKids need to be there, staying mainly in their rooms. They can’t visit other patients or favourite venues like the Family Centre library for Story Time. Families are limited to one parent or caregiver per visit. And playrooms are mostly closed, or by appointment only–one kid at a time—to allow deep cleaning between visits.
Child Life TV is ramping up in response. As Child Life Specialist Rachael Cale puts it, “TV is a physically distanced activity. We were already dealing with lots of kids in isolation and engaging them.” The team has more than doubled its capacity to 15 live weekday shows and, for the first time ever, four shows on the weekend.
Celebrity call-ins are a big highlight of the new programming.
Ryan Reynolds was one of the first. From self-isolation with his family, he took calls and questions from SickKids patients, chatting with them about his favourite movie roles, foods he craves while hunkered down, and his famous ugly sweater.
“At the heart of it, my mandate hasn’t changed. It’s just become more important.”
Many celebrities have joined in, but it was Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio who kicked off the first call-in, and from there it became a popular new feature. SickKids patients have also grilled astronaut Chris Hadfield, Leafs teammates Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, and stars of hockey and tennis Hayley Wickenheiser and Bianca Andreescu. And our patients were recently treated to a double bill: Ryan Reynolds and one of his biggest fans, Auston Matthews, met remotely and got to know each other through a game of trivia.
Besides the celebrity call-ins, Child Life TV connects patients and supports parents with Story Time, Child Life Bingo, Kahoot Trivia, Kids Crafts, and more. Patients and parents can enjoy the virtual contact and distraction of bingo and trivia, boisterous readings during Story Time, and the chance to work on craft kits and then show and tell about their creations by calling in to the Kids Crafts show.
While Child Life is providing bright moments through TV, Child Life Specialists as well as Creative Arts Therapists are making in-person visits to patients. Like any other frontline worker, they don personal protective equipment before they enter a patient’s room and remove it when they leave—making sure any art supplies, musical instruments, and props are cleaned and ready for the next visit.
“At the heart of it, my mandate hasn’t changed,” says SickKids Therapeutic Clown A. Leboo, “it’s just become more important.”
