Ferndale, Michigan (September 25, 2009) – Eloquest Healthcare®, Inc., a specialty company that focuses on improving dermal outcomes for the acute care market, has announced the donation of more than a dozen medical procedure visual aids, known as “overlays”, which work in combination with special medical dolls to enable hospital staff to reduce parents’ and children’s anxieties prior to certain medical treatments and procedures.
Timothy P. O’Halla, Chief Operating Officer for Ferndale-based Eloquest Healthcare®, said, “The overlays donated by Eloquest Healthcare® will enable the child life specialists at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan to demonstrate to their young patients a variety of procedures, from simple insertions of IV lines to more complicated surgeries.”
The donation, which included funds for the overlays plus medical masks, gloves, caps, bandages, and brochures, are to be used as part of the Child Life program. The hospital implemented the program beginning in 1996; it employs hands-on demonstration techniques to teach about diseases and procedures to children who might be feeling anxious about an upcoming treatment.
Medical Play dolls feature various movable and removable parts which allow child life specialists to explain serious medical topics in a non-threatening way, in an effort to help parents and children gain better understanding of their conditions and treatment plans. The dolls allow for questions and answers, and also for teaching parents about procedures. Staff can also teach positive coping techniques to patients and parents throughout the demonstration process.
“Practice makes people comfortable and familiar, and that helps reduce anxiety and, hopefully, improves techniques and behaviors in advance,” said O’Halla, adding, “Every little thing we can do to help improve patient outcomes is important, from both a physical and emotional perspective.”
In addition to minimizing emotional challenges, the dolls can be especially helpful when language is a barrier, and they can help children visualize the things they are going to live through. Before an IV-line is inserted, the child can see it, touch it, and understand in a way that would not otherwise be possible.
“Eloquest Healthcare® stands in support of our customers’ efforts to improve healthcare outcomes through compassion and caring at every opportunity in the practice of medicine,” O’Halla offered. “That’s been our mission from the outset, and we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to that ideal in everything we do and in every product we market.”
Eloquest Healthcare®, Inc., which is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, was launched as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferndale Pharma Group company, in February 2008. Eloquest Healthcare® is focused specifically on serving hospitals, their healthcare practitioners, and patients. Eloquest Healthcare® provides value within the acute care market by helping to improve dermal outcomes by minimizing dermal pain, preserving and/or repairing the integrity of the skin, and ensuring the integrity of devices adhere to the skin. For more information, please visit the company’s website at: www.eloquesthealthcare.com.
