Look Who it Was Random video

Playing Around in the Hospital

635 views · Published 26 October 2015 · 1:34 · Indexed 29 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2015 · Science & Technology

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Putting kids first. It’s a top priority for a children’s hospital. Keeping them not just healthy but happy takes extra effort, and so a growing number of health systems are turning to specialists like Mia Dibagno.

“Any time a kid can come out of something with a positive experience it’s a win in our column,” says Mia Dibango, a child life specialist with Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. 

As a child life specialist with Golisano Children’s Hospital, Mia and her team are armed with tools, like coloring books, toys, iPads, and videos. Their job is to meet kids at their level.

“Because play is work to them, that’s what they do and that’s what they’re meant to do. So we use that to distract kids through really stressful encounters that they have in the hospital,” says Dibango. 

The reality is, being in a hospital isn’t all fun and games. There are tests and procedures that must be done. Some of which aren’t pleasant. But every effort is made to take the sting out of their stay.

“They are scared of the unknown and it causes them to have anxiety and that anxiety - sometimes it’s actually worse than the test itself,” says Dr. Alex Daneshmand, who is a pediatric intensivist with Golisano Children’s Hospital. 

One of them most dreaded tests is the MRI, which requires holding still for a long time in a small tube. Until recently many kids required sedation. Now they have the option of watching a movie during their test with MRI-safe viewing goggles.

“The movie just distracts them for that 30 minutes that we need so we can complete that MRI or their testing,” says Dr. Daneshmand. 

It is one way to ensure a happy ending. 

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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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