One of the top priorities of the Child Life Department is the normalization of the hospital environment. When children are hospitalized they often miss out on fun, exciting activities at home. In order to help compensate for this and to simply brighten a child's day, the Child Life Department often schedules special events such as visiting and entertainment groups. These groups are divided into two categories:
Entertainment Groups: Entertainment, such as a puppet show, a musical performance, or a celebrity/character visit can bring pleasure to a hospitalized child and his/her family. The visit may be scheduled in an inpatient, outpatient or specialty unit, based on patient need, availability, age, and other considerations.
Community Groups: Visits by generous community volunteers who wish to offer their time to spend with patients can make a family feel very special. These visits often include an activity for the patients to engage in, usually an arts and crafts activity, though we are open to any and all suggestions. The visit may be scheduled in an inpatient, outpatient or specialty unit, based on patient need, availability, age and other considerations.
If you have questions regarding our Special Event policies or you would like to schedule an entertainment or community group, you can contact Leah Class in the Child Life Department at (813)-554-8155 ext. 4.
Special events guidelines and application may be downloaded using the links
below. To submit the completed application, it can be emailed to Leah Class, faxed to (813)-554-8520, or
mailed to:
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa
Child Life
Center
c/o Leah Class
3001 W. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Tampa, FL
33607
