Exploring the Jungle and Ocean in the Pediatric Unit
A stay in the hospital can be a frightening experience for children and their families. Emanate Health wants to welcome and surround each young person with beauty, hope and joy. Children stay in our Pediatric Unit for an average of three days, but some stay for several weeks. A healing environment has many elements, including happy sights and sounds.
We know from experience that young patients appreciate beautiful and whimsical murals, so the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation funded the design and installation of a new mural covering the walls of the Pediatric Unit of Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital.
Designed by a top notch illustrator from La Verne, the murals are vinyl and cover 396 linear feet of the department’s corridors. It has two engaging themes – jungle/tropical and ocean/water – that provide multiple areas of interest for patients and family members. Each theme has wall-specific components such as land and sea animals, trees and flowers, allowing for interesting theme transitions and the flexibility to work around doors, windows, counters and equipment installed on the wall.
Pediatric patients can also go on a scavenger hunt to look for and count the number of beautiful wild animals and sea creatures throughout the halls. The artist who completed the design is David Ensz with Some Culture LLC and the installer was Arete Digital Imaging. Students from South Hills Academy in West Covina had also given a donation towards this mural project.
“Our Pediatric Unit now has a charming and playful ambience for our patients with this mural,” said Anjanette Gaane, Director of Pediatrics at Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital.
Located on the 6th floor of the hospital, the Pediatric Unit offers care for everything from minor injuries to serious illnesses, traumas and post-operative recovery.
Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital has one of the few emergency departments in the San Gabriel Valley licensed to receive pediatric patients. The result is hundreds of children each year are admitted to the hospital directly from the emergency department. These young patients are well taken care of in the Pediatric Unit.
The unit’s pediatricians and certified pediatric nurses are specially trained to care for children of all ages. Other important members of the pediatric team include child life specialists, who interact with children and families to provide education, support and therapeutic interventions that can help children and teens better understand their illness and treatments.
Services for pediatric patients include: newborn care, well child care and exams, teen health, school and sport physicals, health screenings (hearing, nutrition, vision), immunizations, sick care and injuries, and premature birth follow-up care.
Anjanette Gaane also notes, “Thanks to the Parsons Foundation, this new mural will help to make the children’s stay in our hospital a more pleasant and engaging experience.”
