PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Having to go to the hospital for an emergency is never fun, especially not for kids. To help make sure kids having their worst day feel more comfortable, Providence St. Vincent has recently redone their children’s emergency room to make it more bright, colorful, and welcoming
It’s a scary situation for the whole family. Sarah Ochs vividly remembers the first time she had to rush her youngest child, Chance, to the ER.
“Chance was 9-months-old and it was the middle of the night and I woke up because he woke up. He just didn’t look right to me, and I could tell he couldn’t breathe right, so we hopped in the car and drove here from Camby,” Ochs said, “We needed to come to a pediatric ER because Chance had a history of SVT, supraventricular tachycardia, and he was on beta blockers and an anti-arrhythmic medication.”
When they got to the St. Vincent Pediatric ER, Ochs quickly felt at ease.
“You just know they are going to take care of your child, and they are equipped for little kids,” Ochs said.
“When a patient or family first comes in to the pediatric ER, they notice everything is made child-sized. We want things to be calm and comfortable for kids of all ages,” St. Vincent Emergency Department Medical Director Dr. Diane West explained.
While they have all the normal medical equipment you’d expect in an emergency room, they also have a few extra tools like stuffed animals, Disney movies, and a new contraption called a mobile sensory unit.
“A mobile sensory unit has cameras that can project images, videos, and sounds. There is a tactile element there too, this almost horse tail of LED strings children can play with, and we also have the ability to use smell if that’s a positive distraction,” Dr. West explained.
Ever since their remodel, Dr. West said the mobile sensory unit has made a big difference in helping out anxious patients of all ages.
“Recently there was a child who had a cut their chin and needed sutures. They kept wanting to look down at the equipment which can be scary for children, so we brought in one of our sensory tools and projected images on the ceiling, which forced the child to look up. They got to watch a movie and was much calmer so we could put stiches in their chin,” Dr. West said.
The St. Vincent ER is also the beneficiary of this year’s Providence Bridge Pedal, an event where you can bike or walk across some of Portland’s tallest bridges, on August 10.
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