03/17/2026
💚 March is Child Life Month, a time to celebrate the team members who help turn hospital rooms into places of comfort, courage and even a little fun for the children and families we serve.
Child Life Month Spotlight: Stephanie Cape, CCLS - certified child life specialist
🫶 Why Child Life?
"I spent a lot of time in the hospital as a child. When I was young, I always said that I wanted to be the 'nice doctor' that told kids what was going on. I was in college the first time I heard about child life and I knew right away that this was the career for me."
🧰 Favorite coping tool to teach?
"Re-focusing the mind. I like to teach kids the power of distraction. I help them to acknowledge what they are experiencing (pain, anxiety, discomfort, etc.) and then empower them to focus their mind on a positive distraction. Re-focusing the mind splits the brains attention from their pain, anxiety, or discomfort, allowing for a reduction in those sensations. This is an important skill, because it is versatile, meaning that it can be applied to multiple situations, not just to the current stressor. It is a go to for me because it often requires coaching at first, but can be done independently with practice. This allows me to provide that support while I am there, but ultimately gives them the power to support themselves when I cannot be present."
💚 Favorite patient moment?
"One of my favorite moments involved a school-aged patient who needed an MRI and had been told she couldn’t eat until it was completed with sedation. Since there was a chance sedation might not be available that day, I worked with the care team to see if we could prepare her to try the MRI without it. Using a mini MRI model, we practiced what the experience would be like through play and talked about the sounds she would hear. By the time it was time for the scan, she felt confident and excited — and she successfully completed the MRI without sedation and was able to go home that evening."
✨ Fun fact
"I have a 19 year old son, 4 cats, and 2 dogs. They are my world."
💚 Have you worked with Stephanie? Share your experience!
