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in x o a ij surgical preadmission program offers children comfort in 111 111 5 co o byrenagalanis advertising features coordinator the dr bear surgical preadmission program at markham stouffville hospital offers tours and information as well as coping techniques for children about to be hospitalized our role is to normalize the procedure of hospitalization for the child and their family and to offer support during their stay here says the hospitals child life specialist sandy bever the advance preparation the program provides alleviates the stress and fear of the unknown which is common for many children who require hospital care she says specifically geared to four- to 12yearolds the program also gives parents the opportunity to ask any questions regarding their childs stay or surgical proce dure bever uses a teaching puppet rusty to explain procedures to the child and they in turn can express feelings through puppet play and learn more about what they will go through by viewing a slide show and allowing handson exploration of commonly used medical equipment children can simulate something as simple as giving a needle on rusty so that the act bacomes familiar bever says children identify with the puppet who is a character their own age and it is this friendly parents ottgn approach which can help relieve their anxiety coitiment that during their stay they ask questions and the tours let them child life specialist sandy bever poses with puppet rusty bever uses puppet play to help prepare and give information to children who are pholo by steve somervjlle about to be hospitalized in addition tours and slide shows are all part of the dr bear pro gram offered at markham stouf fville hospital ifc oiaat in hah i know exactly what to ii s great to aeai expect if still frightened with a hospital that b wi accompany the child and either distract looks at the whole child addressing emotional as well as physical needs them as theyre receiving a treatment talk them through it or use relax ation techniques so that the child can cope studies indicate that chil dren who are prepared in advance are better able to cope with hospitalization and surgery than those who are not and their par ents also experience less stress bever says we work very closely with the child and parents she adds its a familycentred program that works for both of them children can repeat the program as they get older if they again require hospital care since the information they need will change as they grow although parents are welcome to take part in the program along with their child the hospital recommends that other siblings do not take part so that individual focus on the child being hospitalized is maintained bever says parents have been pleased with the results of the program and often comment that its great to deal with a hospital that looks at the whole child addressing emotional as well as physical needs markham firefighters have been generous financial sup porters of the dr bear program since its inception in 1992 for more information on the dr bear program call the com munity relations department of the markham stouffville hos pital at 9054727000 ext 618 echocardiogram machine provides detailed data without invasive testing byrenagalanis advertising features the paediatric echocardio gram machine purchased last october by the markham stouffville hospi tal is one example of how the hospital makes use of technological advances to better serve their communi ty says a hospital represen tative the echocardiogram allows us to acquire medical information which previous ly required invasive testing says lynne campkin direc tor of diagnostic imaging ser vices it also provides detailed information about how the heart looks and functions this ultra sound machine is designed to do heart and vessel scanning sound waves are sent and received through a transducer an instrument which looks like a microphone the transducer is scanned over the area investigated sending and receiving sound waves which are then translated by the echocardiogram machine into electronic data this data creates the mov ing image of the investigated agea and is viewed on the machines computer screen in black and white color the echocardiogram is particularly ideal for use with children says dr roland beaulieu a member of the hospitals paediatric cardiol ogy medical staff chil drens hearts are closer to the chest surface therefore sound waves dont have to travel as far and this allows for a better image it is also used to perform fetal echo cardiogram testing and can help in genetic counselling because it can provide early detection of any abnormalities the test along with a gen eral examination only requires about 30 minutes dr beaulieu says but the amount of informa tion gathered during this short time is quite amaz ing he adds the 200000 purchase of the paedeatric echocardio gram machine was made possible through donations made to the hospital founda tion hospital news be a part of markham stouffville hospitals birthday celebration this sunday from 1 to 4 pm cake refreshments tours and activities are part of the day parking is free effective monday march 6 the markham stouffville hospital will offer extended laboratory services in the new location on the second floor east wing room 2222 new hours are 8 am to 8 pm monday to wednesday 8 am to 6 pm thursday to friday and 10 am to 2 pm saturday dr roland beaulieu uses the echocardio gram machine on fouryearold kaltlin ritchie as mom joan looks on this ultra photo by loriemmerson sound machine which is designed for heart and vessel scanning is ideal in examinations of children