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By Amelia Schofield, AHS Senior Advisor, Foundation Relations

Child-friendly tablets ease stress thank

Emergency nurses bring comfort to young patients in Red Deer

Apr 21, 2023 | 1:49 PM

RED DEER — Nursing staff at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC) are providing a new way of supporting pediatric patients while they receive care in the Emergency Department.

To ease the stress children may experience during an emergency visit, Registered Nurses Ronnie Biletsky, Nadita Dutt, Caitlyn DeBoer, Kendra Morrison and Ashley Scholten partnered with the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation to bring four tablets with child-friendly games to the Emergency Department.

Three of the tablets are available throughout the department and are used to soothe children while they receive difficult tests or procedures, such as taking medications, an intravenous needle or stitches. The other tablet is being used by the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Response Team (CASART) when they work with children and families.

Registered Nurses Kendra Morrison and Ronnie Biletsky showcase one of the new child-friendly tablets in the Emergency Department of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. Generous donors funded the tablets through the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation.

“One of the challenges we experience is that it can take several hours to go through all the necessary steps of caring for the patient,” says Biletsky, clinical educator with the CASART program and domestic violence program coordinator for Central Zone.

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“If a case involves a child, or a child is present with a patient, it can be an incredibly difficult and exhausting experience for them. Offering something like a tablet with games to a child can go a long way to comfort them and distract them from the experience they’re going through.”

According to Morrison, the tablets will also be used to support siblings and parents.

“We recognize that a hospital visit can be stressful for siblings and parents too, so the tablets can be used to provide them with comfort and distraction when they need it as well,” she adds.

The tablet idea came from Biletsky, who shared it with her department’s Comfort Care Committee, a group of healthcare providers who pursue opportunities to bring more comfort to patients. Committee members Dutt, DeBoer, Morrison and Scholten helped Biletsky prepare a pitch to the Foundation.

“We’re proud to have assisted AHS staff who spearheaded this program. They saw a need and worked together to fill it, showing just how much they care about their patients and their work,” says Manon Therriault, CEO of the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation.

“When big-hearted donors get behind an incredible AHS team, great things happen for children and families in Central Alberta.”

“We’re always grateful for the support the foundation provides for the care and comfort of our patients. Their contributions truly have a far-reaching impact,” adds Blaine Ironside, acute care manager for the RDRHC emergency department.

“We thank them and their donors for funding these tablets — and for everything they continue to do for our patients and our healthcare teams.”

“Words cannot express how much we appreciate the kindness and generosity of the foundation and its donors,” says Biletsky.

“Having these tablets will allow us to give additional comfort to the children coming through our department.”

Learn more about the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation at rdrhfoundation.com.

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