2023
August
24,
2023
|
10:13 AM
America/Chicago
By Ashley Pagenkopf, MS, CCLS, Child Life Specialist at Cook Children'sI do not have adequate words for the pure joy and humility I felt this past week. Our family was chosen to attend the Kidd’s Kids 2023 trip to Disney World and was surprised along...
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August
17,
2023
|
15:26 PM
America/Chicago
Story by Sydney HanesCook Children’s employees Ashley Pagenkopf and Danny Peltier were in for a big surprise Tuesday when Kidd’s Kids announced their families are going on an all-expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World!Every year, Kidd’s Kids takes 3...
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July
25,
2023
|
13:14 PM
America/Chicago
By Ashley Pagenkopf, MS, CCLS, Child Life Specialist at Cook Children'sOur Child Life teams utilize in-kind donations every day, all day. From stocking playrooms, celebrating birthdays, offering comfort, providing distraction, and meeting basic needs...
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July
11,
2023
|
16:00 PM
America/Chicago
Community activist Opal Lee and author Megan Jackson visited with patients Tuesday at Cook Children's Medical Center. They read Jackson's children's book “Words are Magic" live on our Child Life Zone TV and joined patients in activities in the Child ...
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June
21,
2023
|
15:22 PM
America/Chicago
By Ashley Pagenkopf, MS, CCLS, Child Life Specialist at Cook Children'sMy girls are just beginning to experience the downtime of summer. My early-risers are finally trying to sleep in longer. They are no longer allowed to start their days with their ...
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May
23,
2023
|
16:10 PM
America/Chicago
On Tuesday, patients and families were invited to come to the Atrium at Cook Children’s Medical Center to participate in a miniature golf tournament alongside two golfers from the Charles Schwab Challenge, which is set to begin this week at The Colon...
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May
11,
2023
|
10:09 AM
America/Chicago
Child Life Series: This series will discuss the pillars of Child Life – emotional safety, family-centered care, and play - within the hospital environment and how Child Life specialists at Cook Children's serve patients and families.By Ashley Pagenk...
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March
24,
2023
|
12:50 PM
America/Chicago
Child Life Week: This week, we’re celebrating our Child Life Specialists at Cook Children’s who make an impact on the emotional safety of children and families in health care.By Lauren Bridge, MS, CCLS, AYA Child Life Specialist at Cook Children’s He...
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March
22,
2023
|
16:42 PM
America/Chicago
Child Life Week: This week, we’re celebrating our Child Life Specialists at Cook Children’s who make an impact on the emotional safety of children and families in health care.By Baylee Simmons, CCLS, Child Life Specialist at Cook Children’s Neonatal ...
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February
08,
2023
|
14:44 PM
America/Chicago
Child Life Series: In the last series, we discussed emotional safety within the context of our homes and the ways that we could support the expression of our children’s emotions, validate our children and advocate for them in all settings. This sprin...
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January
26,
2023
|
15:57 PM
America/Chicago
Cook Children’s and Twisted X®, a Twisted X Global Brands company, have joined together to create the Cook Children’s by Twisted X Collection. Twisted X will donate 100 percent of wholesale proceeds from every pair of shoes sold from this collection ...
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January
06,
2023
|
16:14 PM
America/Chicago
Texas Country artist Josh Abbott visited patients and staff members at Cook Children’s Medical Center on Jan. 6 to share his music and to bring some smiles. While at the children’s hospital, Abbott talked about his partnership with the Texas Dairy Qu...
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2022
December
28,
2022
|
09:29 AM
America/Chicago
Child Life Specialist Series: We're diving deeper into children’s expression of emotions, the validation of children’s emotions and experiences (including tears), and what it looks like to advocate for our children in all settings.By Ashley Pagenkopf...
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November
02,
2022
|
10:17 AM
America/Chicago
Child Life Specialist Series: In the coming months, we will dive deeper into children’s expression of emotions, the validation of children’s emotions and experiences (including tears), and what it looks like to advocate for our children in all settin...
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September
30,
2022
|
12:07 PM
America/Chicago
Child Life Specialist Series: In the coming months, we will dive deeper into children’s expression of emotions, the validation of children’s emotions and experiences (including tears), and what it looks like to advocate for our children in all settin...
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August
16,
2022
|
10:19 AM
America/Chicago
Child Life Specialist Series: In the coming months, we will dive deeper into children’s expression of emotions, the validation of children’s emotions and experiences (including tears), and what it looks like to advocate for our children in all settin...
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April
07,
2022
|
11:21 AM
America/Chicago
Editor's note: It's National Library Week, a time to celebrate libraries, library workers and to promote library use and support.Six years ago, Ashley Brock, MLS, AHIP, Family Library/Literacy Program manager, visited a family member after their surg...
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2020
September
10,
2020
|
15:41 PM
America/Chicago
Fifteen years ago, I accepted my first job out of college at Cook Children’s. I never dreamed that this anniversary would fall during a pandemic. This has been one of the most challenging experiences to date as a parent and as a human, but I have sur...
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April
13,
2020
|
13:20 PM
America/Chicago
Our family was vacationing in Colorado when everything began to change. What started as a normal vacation became what will go down in our personal history books of where we were when COVID-19 started. We showed up and everything started shutting down...
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2018
March
08,
2018
|
16:44 PM
America/Chicago
You may be surprised to see a child life specialist in one of the rooms at Cook Children’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). After all, this is an area devoted to babies.
But spend some time in one of those rooms and you will see a big part of t...
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March
07,
2018
|
14:55 PM
America/Chicago
About five years ago, I was at work, walking down a long hallway wearing a pink feather boa, oversized yellow sunglasses, carrying a marshmallow launcher. A staff member I didn’t personally know was walking toward me, squinting his eyes.
When we w...
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2017
June
15,
2017
|
14:49 PM
America/Chicago
It can be difficult to imagine what you will find when you walk into the emergency room with your kiddo. Chances are you’ve debated coming, but it’s Friday night and you’ve hoped all day that your child would start to feel better. The weekend is fast...
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April
27,
2017
|
15:30 PM
America/Chicago
As a kid, I can remember asking my mom before every single doctor’s appointment, “Am I going to get a shot?”
Now with three kids of my own, I often hear, “Am I going to have to get a shot?” My 6-year-old tells me weekly that she doesn’t have to ge...
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April
19,
2017
|
14:11 PM
America/Chicago
By Victoria Shelton
Cook Children’s has brought in visiting dogs for decades as a way to help patients and their families cope with their situations, but it was one of the first hospitals nationwide to realize the value in having dogs as badge-yie...
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March
14,
2017
|
15:21 PM
America/Chicago
Life is made up of lots of small moments (like when a kangaroo comes to visit). Working at Cook Children's as a child life specialist I get a front row seat to some of the biggest moments in the lives of many children.
As a child life specialist m...
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January
31,
2017
|
11:15 AM
America/Chicago
Three years ago this month, I was on the farm at Canine Assistants being paired with Ralph Lauren, a goofy golden retriever with a fluffy tail and a giant smile. Each year since then I remember and reflect on Ralph's "gotcha day," and what it was lik...
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2016
September
15,
2016
|
10:15 AM
America/Chicago
For years, parents have favored the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine to painful shots for their children. This year, however, they may not have a choice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics a...
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March
17,
2016
|
09:38 AM
America/Chicago
Julia Smeltzer brings her dog to work every day. She wears a t-shirt and scrubs. And 'play' is in her job description.
Don’t be confused though. Julia and her dog, Journey, have a big responsibility at Cook Children's. Yes, they are there to play,...
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2015
July
30,
2015
|
15:47 PM
America/Chicago
In “Inside Out,” the character, Joy, really enjoys controlling all the different emotions throughout the beginning of the movie, until Sadness touches a core memory and the memory changes. This really frustrates Joy that a core memory has been change...
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July
24,
2015
|
12:31 PM
America/Chicago
In Disney’s movie “Inside Out”, we see Riley’s emotion of Anger depicted as a red, brick-shaped, literal hot head. He is impatient, scowls, pounds his fist, flames burst from his head, and he yells…A LOT! Early on in Riley’s life, we see tantrums and...
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