Assessing Playrooms

        

             The idea of assessing a playroom seems a little odd at first but the playrooms in the hospital are a vital part of a Child Life Specialist’s resources. Recently, a new rubric for assessing playrooms and their effectiveness came out. The rubric for the playrooms is available here.

There are a total of eighteen standards that Child Life Specialists can use to assess their playrooms.  Some of those standards include room accessibility, hours and staffing, gender sensitivity, staff training etc. While some of these standards seem straightforward a lot of them tend to be overlooked. Having a set list of standards helps a CLS keep all the playrooms up to the same safety standards as well as provide for all of the patients unique needs.

       Budgets are not tight in hospitals but funding for CLS programs such as playrooms is hard to come by without a proof of need. When an administrator not well versed in child life sees a request for playroom funding they may not see the need as clearly as someone who is well versed in child life. A clear and concise rubric allows the CLS to do an assessment for all playrooms that can be turned into administration and show a need for more staffing, a larger space or whatever else comes up on the assessment. 

       
       Another reason having this rubric is so beneficial is the lack of materials available to CLS. Since Child Life is a new field there are not nearly enough assessment standards available to show progress in a child life department. Putting this rubric into play in a hospital would give further explanation on why child life is an actual need in a hospital which is a constant battle Child Life Specialists face. This rubric is only available online at the website mentioned above and has only been available on Child Life blogs thus far.