Operation Smile Conducts Family Advocate Training in Panama City
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(www.happynews.com) Operation Smile's Child Life Specialty Council successfully conducted the inaugural Child and Family Advocate Training Program in Panama City, Panama from March 8-10. The training program was held in conjunction with the first regional Operation Smile Child and Family Advocate Conference. This training program was created by the council to augment the knowledge of Operation Smile volunteers that provide psychosocial care to our patients around the world.
The three day conference brought together 20 participants from throughout Latin America. Some topics of the Child and Family Advocate Training Program include preparing patients and their families for surgery, encouraging patients during difficult or painful procedures, providing supportive play activities for the children while in the hospital, and advocating for the rights of the child and family.
"By sharing the knowledge and experiences of our Child Life Specialists with those of the many volunteers who work in this field, we hope to boost the emotional well-being of Operation Smile patients, as well as other children treated in hospitals around the world," said Megan Coe, Operation Smile Mission Education Coordinator.
Operation Smile Child Life Council members, Toni Crowell, Jennifer Kreimer, Morgan Livingstone, and Priti Desai, worked for several months to develop this program, creating materials and gathering resources for the participants. This program will be continued during conferences in the Central and Asia Regions later this year, to help provide psychosocial support to our patients and families in all locations around the world.
