Child Life Leader Advocates to Humanize Healthcare

With nearly 25 years of experience supporting children and families in their moments of medical need, Rebecca Meyers, a 2013 graduate of Erikson’s Infant Mental Health (now Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health) certificate program, is a leader and advocate for child life professionals and the critical care they provide.

Meyers became Manager of Patient Family Experience at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago this past spring. It is a role she is well prepared for, having worked as a certified child life specialist for 13 years at Lurie and elsewhere, followed by 11 years as a manager for child life services at Lurie. Now, Meyers has the opportunity to shape the larger systems impacting both families and the child life profession.

“My primary role is to ensure patient and family voices are included in everything we do. I work on implementing new policies and improvement projects,” she said. Meyers explained that sometimes hospitals make decisions with the goal of positive change, but the impact on families is not as helpful as hoped.

“When the rubber meets the road, the policy doesn’t always achieve what we want it to,” she said. “Sometimes there are unintended consequences, [and] my team’s job is to avoid those situations by advocating on behalf of children and families.”

Child life leadership in action

Meyers is responsible for the overall coordination and improvement of family members’ experiences in the hospital. She facilitates surveys that families receive after a hospital experience, helps other leaders, works closely with the nursing staff, and creates educational opportunities. In her previous role as a child life manager, she also ensured that recommendations and best practices, such as those issued by the ACLP (Association of Child Life Professionals) are properly implemented. An example is the issue of emotional support and safety for children who are coming to the hospital for treatment.

“Everything we do is evidence-based. The work around emotional safety has elevated the public’s understanding of what a child life specialist does,” Meyers explained. “When a child has a positive interaction through a typical procedure, they gain trust in healthcare and learn not to be afraid in the future. It takes a lot of positive experiences to overcome one negative one.” To ensure these positive encounters, Meyers believes that “It is crucial to have child life specialists at the entry points of healthcare so that the first experience is a positive one.”

While this may seem common sense, child life professionals are not always hardwired into care and insurance companies do not cover child life services. The field must constantly prove its worth to earn philanthropic support and budgetary dollars.

“The role of a child life specialist isn’t revenue-generating and healthcare is a business. We are able to quantify the impact of hiring child life specialists through the data we maintain. Through our value proposition, explained well in this ACLP report, we are able to continue advocating for roles in child life,” Meyers said. “More and more organizations are recognizing the value of child life specialists. Foundations have been very supportive.” In her time at Lurie, Meyers helped grow the child life program to nearly 40 child life specialist positions.

“Sometimes families need coaching and support; they just need additional help along the way,” Meyers explained. “Holding a child’s hand, literally and figuratively, during the difficult moments in life makes a big difference. Over time, it is the small moments that help humanize healthcare.”

If you’re inspired by Rebecca Meyers’ impact and see yourself providing emotional support to children and their families during medical challenges, consider Erikson’s Master’s in Child Life program. Designed to help you grow into a well-rounded, certified child life specialist, the program equips you with deep knowledge in child development, trauma-informed care, and the unique needs of children in healthcare settings.

Whether you’re interested in advocating for child life services, supporting children during medical procedures, or guiding family members through moments of crisis, Erikson prepares you to make a lasting difference. Learn more about how Erikson’s child life program can help you become a transformative child life professional.