On March 28, 2011, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA announced that they had received a $2.125 million donation from the Chase Foundation for the hospital’s Child Life/Child Development program. In recognition of the gift, UCLA officially rededicated the program as the Chase Child Life program at a March 28 ribbon-cutting event held at the hospital. The Chase Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to financially supporting hospital-based programs that cater to the social, emotional and developmental needs of children. The Child Life program helps address the unique needs of pediatric patients by promoting effective coping through play, preparation, education and self-expression activities. It provides emotional support for families and encourages the optimal development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization.
The Chase Foundation also announced additional funding to create a therapeutic healing garden on the hospital’s outdoor Tisch Family Children’s Terrace to promote coping and wellness. Pediatric patients and their families will be able to participate in hands-on gardening lessons and enjoy the garden's fragrant beauty. An artist’s rendering of the healing garden, which is still in the early planning stages, was unveiled at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Chase Foundation's goal is to generate significant financial support for child life programs and to create healing play spaces for children in hospitals. Susan and Robin Richards founded The Chase Foundation in memory of their son, Chase, who passed away shortly after his second birthday. He lost his life to cancer; however, in his last few weeks, thanks to child life specialists, Chase and his sisters were able to play, draw, be with other children, and forget about his illness, even if only for a few minutes,. After Chase died, the Richards family dedicated themselves to helping secure financial resources to see that every hospitalized child gains access to the Child Life program and its art, play, therapy, and interactive programs.
The Chase Child Life program at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA is staffed by child life specialists who are part of an interdisciplinary, family-centered model of care. They focus on the social, emotional and developmental needs of hospitalized children by communicating accurate and age-specific information, identifying potential stressors, and planning and practicing coping strategies. For more information, go to: www.uclahealth.org/body_mattel.cfm?id=877.
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