Meet Susie: SickKids Child Life Specialist
“Every SMILE pin has a different story,” said Susie, a Child Life Specialist at SickKids. “I’m very proud to wear mine and am honoured to share my story.”Susie’s SickKids story takes place within the Child Life Department at SickKids, managing events and programming for in-patients, chairing the Children’s Council, managing the Dream Delivery program (a donor-funded program that helps to provide group dreams at the hospital like the annual prom) and assisting in the management of the gift-in-kind program.
It was her assistance with the gift-in-kind program that prompted a colleague to honour Susie with a donation to the SMILE program. “It was such a nice thank you,” said Susie. “I work so much behind-the-scenes that it was nice to be recognized.”
Susie will be celebrating her six year anniversary at SickKids this month. She began her time at SickKids in an internship role in Emergency and was eventually hired on to work with the Child Life Department. “I love working with kids and originally thought I was going to be a teacher. But I quickly realized that I didn’t like the big setting of a school and wanted something a little more personal and one-to-one. My sister is a physiotherapist and had encountered child life programs at other hospitals, and when I looked into it further, I decided that was the career path I wanted to follow.”
It was within the Child Life Department that Susie was able to pursue her other passion: event planning. From arranging surprise visits by celebrities, organizing life milestones such as SickKids prom to planning smaller holiday activities like baking and decorating cookies, Susie enjoys working behind-the-scenes to manage the logistics of events and programs that help to create a sense of normalcy for patients and their families while they are being treated at SickKids. “Hospitalized kids are still kids,” said Susie. “They need to have opportunities to play and experience fun things.”
Hospitalized kids are still kids.
This is something that especially rings true during the holiday season. For those families who must spend time as in-patients at SickKids over the holidays, it often means missing out on the everyday traditions and experiences that they would have typically enjoyed. Susie and her Child Life colleagues work to ensure that families can still have those experiences, but within the hospital surroundings. This includes photo opportunities with Santa, holiday baking and developing Christmas and Hanukkah decorations. There is a family dinner, carolling and crafts on Christmas Eve for in-patient families, as well as a visit from the jolly old man himself on Christmas Day. And to help parents who may not have had an opportunity to get a Hanukkah or Christmas gift for their children, Susie manages the parent room, which has been turned into a holiday gift room for parents to come in and pack a few gifts for their children who are in-patients over the holiday season.
It is through these events and programs that Susie hopes she is able to provide a smile, even for a small moment, for kids and their families. “Working in a non-medical role at the hospital,the events I plan provide me with the opportunity to take the families’ minds off of the medical experiences which occupy the majority of their days.”
Susie works hard to put smiles on the faces of the many patients at SickKids and loves to watch a child’s face as they come into an event that she has planned. “Seeing that reaction as the end result of all my planning is extremely fulfilling.”
If you know a SickKids staff member like Susie who you would like to honour this holiday season, say thanks with a SMILE. When you honour a staff member through the SMILE program, they receive a SMILE pin along with a personalized note as to why they were honoured. A donation is also given in their honour that will support the Staff Professional Development Fund as well as the highest priority needs at SickKids. Smiles make a difference, so if you are thinking of honouring a staff member at SickKids, consider thanking them with a SMILE.
