Fletcher Allen, a Vermont university hospital and medical center, serves all of
Vermont and the northern New York region. Located in Burlington, Fletcher Allen is a regional, academic healthcare center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
Pediatric Anesthesiology/The Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone provides procedural sedation for infants and children in need of radiology exams and other services, including:
- CT scans
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Electroencephalograms (EEG)
- Other imaging studies
- Bone marrow procedures
- Lumbar puncture
- Botox injections
- Bronchoscopies
- Endoscopies
- Voiding cystourethrograms (VCUG)
Child Life Specialists
Child life specialists and pediatric nurse specialists on staff in the Comfort Zone help ease the anxiety children sometimes feel during medical experiences.
For pediatric patients, that means sharing information to help children and their families understand a diagnosis or medical procedure prior to treatment.
Comfort often comes in the form of therapeutic play, including talking through and practicing some of the things a child will do to understand and cope with a medical experience at Vermont Children’s Hospital. Preparation can also include medical play with a doll, blowing bubbles to relax, and handling some of the equipment (an IV line, for instance) a patient will see during a procedure.
Part of the child life specialist’s job is also to help patients and their siblings express feelings and emotions prior to and after a procedure.
