The Importance of Play at Children’s Hospitals

July 22, 2024 | The Toy Foundation’s (TTF) Children’s Hospital Play Grants program has funded more than 50 grants at children’s hospitals where 50 percent or more of patients rely on Medicaid. These funds provide play therapy activities to young patients, helping to improve their health outcomes.

To discuss how play improves pediatric patient care, Kathleen Campisano, global chief marketing officer at Beacon Media Group and vice chair of The Toy Foundation™, led a conversation with representatives from Maimonides Health, a TTF hospital grant recipient, and Hope for Henry, a TTF partner that receives a portion of the industry’s toy donations and delivers them to children’s hospitals. The full interview is available to watch on YouTube.

Kathleen Campisano: How important is the need in your environment to have access to play for your patients?
Maimonides Health: [The need is] critically important. Our pediatric funds could not cover the play tools we need to properly support our growing number of behavioral health patients in a way they deserve. With the grant from The Toy Foundation, we were able to create a therapeutic workbook that gives these children an activity, helps them work through their emotions, and assists the care team in getting to the core of their psychiatric issues.

Hope for Henry: Children are going to hospitals and more often than not, they are getting treatment, and they are surviving. Play is crucial to ensure these children become thriving adults. The gift of a toy promotes cognitive and emotional development, reducing the chance of regression and any long-term implications for children who experience long hospitalizations.

KC: Maimonides Health also works with Hope for Henry, using their game boards to educate your patients on what to expect and incentivize them to follow steps with the reward of a toy. Can we talk about Hope for Henry’s initiatives and how the partnership with The Toy Foundation comes together?
HFH: We know that kids learn through play, so we incorporate play into their treatment, like putting stickers on our game board or using medical equipment to practice a procedure. Then, we celebrate what they have accomplished with a toy. We’re grateful to The Toy Foundation, and the incredible support of the toy industry, where receiving your donated toys has been a game changer in the number of children we can support.

MH: An example of our partnerships with both The Toy Foundation and Hope for Henry [is when] we had a patient last week who needed an urgent MRI. We had three minutes to take her through the steps [of the scan] using a game board and explained she’ll receive a toy when the test is complete. Thanks to these resources and the power of play, she completed the procedure successfully and without anesthesia.

KC: How can the toy industry help accelerate the improvements you’re seeing with your patients thanks to play?
MH: The reward of a toy after a patient completes a scan or surgery makes a big difference in the success of that procedure, and to have the stock to offer a toy to every child would be incredible because they all deserve it. We also have a lot of patients who are 3 years old or younger and we are looking for safe toys appropriate for that age group to play with in the playroom or at bedside.

HFH: There are over 250 children’s hospitals [in the U.S.], plus additional regional sites, and our work is not yet done until we’re delivering play to every location. We need to equip child life specialists with play-themed resources and make sure our hospital partners’ closets are fully stocked with toys, 365 days of the year, to use as rewards. Small to medium sized items like action figures, construction sets, and plush are ideal when it comes to storing and using in hospitals.

All proceeds from TTF’s “Party with a Purpose,” taking place Monday, September 9 at TAO Los Angeles, will benefit the TTF’s Children’s Hospital Play Grants program. Learn more about the event here and purchase tickets online here.