Campus Construction Update

The Menino building lobby entrance is currently closed. This, along with the ongoing Yawkey building entrance closure, will help us bring you an even better campus experience that matches the exceptional care you've come to expect. Please enter the Menino and Yawkey buildings through the Moakley building, and make sure to leave extra time to get to your appointment. Thank you for your patience. 

Click here to learn more about our campus redesign. 

Child Life Program

Select your language:

Welcome to the Child Life Program!

The Child Life Program at Boston Medical Center helps children and families manage the stresses associated with hospitalization and illness. Each child life specialist has a unique role as the member of the healthcare team who focuses on children’s individual developmental and emotional needs.

The Child Life Team is composed of professionals with a background in child development who are trained and certified to help children and families navigate their healthcare experience.  Whether a child is going to a doctor’s appointment, having surgery, staying overnight in the hospital or being treated in the Emergency Department, a child life specialist is available to help alleviate the stressors associated with a child’s healthcare experience.

Preparation

Child Life Specialists are trained to deliver developmentally-appropriate teaching and preparation to children prior to medical procedures including, when appropriate, the reason for a procedure, the anticipated sequence of events and the physical sensations that will accompany the experience.  Children who are well-prepared and know their own role tend to be more cooperative and less fearful of the procedure and medical equipment involved.

Procedural Support

Child Life Specialists identify ways to make patients feel safe and supported during procedures they may perceive as scary or painful.  Your child life specialist accomplishes this by offering choices that increase feelings of independence and control; utilizing comfort positioning, breathing and relaxation techniques; and identifying diversional activities to help children manage pain effectively.

Play

Child Life Specialists leverage a child’s natural inclination to play in order to facilitate emotional expression and create a sense of normalcy in an unfamiliar environment. Play offers children an opportunity to explore and work through difficult experiences, and observing this play allows a Child Life Specialist to identify and address any misconceptions the child may display about his/her illness or experience. Play is among the many ways to meet the developmental needs of children while in the hospital and is integral to creating positive associations and memories of their medical experience.

Psychosocial Support

Child Life Specialists have a unique role in the healthcare team which focuses on the complex interplay of a child’s individual social, emotional and developmental needs.  By building trusting and supportive relationships with patients and their families, a child life specialist not only helps a child and family manage the stresses associated with hospitalization and illness, but also helps them to identify and reinforce the coping skills and network of support they have going forward.

Child Life Specialists provide full-time coverage to the following areas of the hospital:

Team

Molly Ann Duggan, Manager
Inpatient Pediatrics/Intensive Care
Phone: 617-414-7346
Pager: 617-638-5795, #7355
Email: molly.duggan@bmc.org

Melissa LeFave, MS, CLS 
Ambulatory Clinics Crosstown
Phone: 617-414-2610
Pager: 617-638-5795, #1569
Email: melissa.lefave@bmc.org

Katie Parrish, MA, CCLS, Pediatric Otolaryngology/OR
Phone: 617-414-2571
Pager: 617-638-5795, #1300
Email: katie.parrish@bmc.org

Contact Us

Call: 617-414-2550
Boston Medical Center
Department of Pediatrics
Child Life Program
Dowling Building
6th Floor, Room 6102B
850 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118

Make a Donation

To make a donation, please send a check made payable to:  The Child Life Program – Boston Medical Center

Send to: Boston Medical Center
Office of Development
960 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02118

Be sure to include your full name, address, and e-mail address if you wish, so we may thank you and acknowledge your tax-deductible contribution.

Donate Online:  In the Direct my gift selection area: please use the drop down option of  "Other" and then area of designation – type:  Child Life Program.

We also accept in-kind donations. Feel free to email Molly.Duggan@bmc.org with questions or call 617.414.2550. Please click on one of the links below for our ongoing wish list as well as our Amazon Wish List: