Every May, hospitals across the country celebrate National Hospital Week, a time to celebrate hospitals, healthcare workers and the work they do in their communities.

For me, the annual week is also a time to reflect on the work of our incredible team who strive to set a new standard for pediatric hospital care with our unique model.

Care Beyond the Bedside is what sets us apart from other hospitals and it goes beyond patient care. It is also the driver behind the design of our physical building as well as our relationship with patients’ families.

Children who are hospitalized for prolonged periods of time are at greater risk for neurodevelopmental delay, a trend we are trying to reverse (read more about our research here).

We believe the increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay is in large part because of the typical hospital environment.

All of our patients have medical complexity and many of them are in the hospital for months at a time, sometimes years. This means they’re kept away from their family and they often spend time in their hospital room alone.

At Ranken Jordan, we’ve created an environment that keeps kids stimulated and gives them opportunities to play. If you’ve ever walked in Ranken Jordan, it’s unlike any hospital you’ve ever seen. The first thing you see is an indoor playground… not your typical hospital furniture!

That playground is a symbol of our commitment to Care Beyond the Bedside, our unique care model that focuses on getting kids out of their hospital rooms and using play as healing.

Initiatives like the Patient Play Associate and our innovative OZ program were created to keep kids engaged and out of their hospital rooms, providing them with the same opportunities non-hospitalized children have.

Having a child in the hospital for a prolonged period of time can also negatively impact a family’s wellbeing.

One major stressor for families is the time and money spent on travel when a child is in the hospital. Ranken Jordan, for instance, is the only hospital of its kind in Missouri and one of only a select few in the country, so caregivers often have to travel to visit their child which can be time-consuming, disruptive to other kids in the home, and expensive.

Caregivers have to deal with a number of other challenges so we see it as our duty to care for families, in addition to outpatients.

To do that, we create programming for families and find other ways to help. At Christmas time, for instance, we partner with our local police and fire departments to host a special visit from Santa for patients and their siblings.

We’ve found engaging with families and creating opportunities for kids to spend time with their caregivers aids in their healing process and helps families become comfortable with the complex care required to care for their child when he or she comes home.

If I have one message for pediatric hospitals this National Hospital Week, it’s to look at how patients spend time in the hospital. Are kids getting chances to play and socialize with their peers? Or are they in their hospital room alone all day?

I know a lot of what we do at Ranken Jordan is hard for other hospitals to implement. We have a unique, purpose-built building and we are also a nonprofit so we have different funding sources many hospitals do not have.

However, I truly believe there are ways hospitals can start implementing aspects of the Care Beyond the Bedside model now. They could design activities families can do together to help make hospital visits more fun. They could devote a portion of volunteers to simply playing with young patients. And they could transform underutilized open spaces into play areas.

Our vision at Ranken Jordan is a world where every child with complex medical needs lives their best life. This is why we work so hard to share our innovative model with the pediatric healthcare industry. We want all hospitals to share that vision for all kids, regardless of what they’re in the hospital for.