UK Child Life specialists blend healing and playtime for pediatric patients

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2026) — Most children will never be diagnosed with a serious illness or experience a life-altering injury. Their families will never have to navigate and unfamiliar hospital setting, understand a complex diagnosis or grapple with the stress while trying to help their child be brave in the face of uncertainty.

But for the families who do find themselves in those situations, they can find solace in knowing that in addition to the array of healthcare providers working to improve the patient’s physical health, there’s a team with a unique set of skills dedicated to their child’s emotional health.

Certified child life specialists (CCLS) are health care professionals who help children of all ages cope with the stress of medical procedures, clinic visits and hospital stays. Members of the Child and Family Life team at Golisano Children’s at UK can be found throughout the hospital’s inpatient units, ambulatory clinics and the emergency department, ready to help make a patient’s experience a little less scary. Three specialists who have recently embarked on their careers — Allison Schiltz, Shayla Embry and Ella Kate Nichols — discuss the challenges and triumphs of this integral health care position.

‘I want to support families through challenging times.’

Schiltz originally wanted to be a teacher but instead pursued a career in child life after learning about the unique support specialists provide.

“As I learned more about how hospitalization can affect children and their families, I knew I wanted to pursue this career to support them through challenging times and create more positive experiences,” said Schiltz.

After completing the required course work and internship for certification at the University of Missouri, Schiltz joined the staff of the DanceBlue Golisano Children’s at UK Hematology/Oncology Clinic as a CCLS. There, she helps young patients understand their diagnoses and prepare for procedures, while also supporting them throughout their treatment. Schiltz and the other Child Life specialists use both real and play medical equipment to demonstrate procedures such as an IV placement. Children learn about the world through play, and medical play is an important therapeutic tool to help children cope with the stress and anxiety of being in a clinical or hospital setting. But they still make time for regular playtime, too. After all, these aren’t just patients in a hospital — they’re kids.

“Part of my job is to provide fun activities and play to help normalize the clinic environment for patients,” Schiltz said. “Providing normalization during clinic appointments helps to make them less stressful for children.”

It’s not just the kids who need support — entire families are affected by a child’s illness or injury. When a parent’s focus is on their hospitalized child, siblings can sometimes feel lost in the shuffle. Child life specialists work to make sure every member of the family has the tools they need to cope when the stress of a hospital stay carries over to their homelife.

“When children are hospitalized and receiving medical treatments, the entire family is affected,” she said. “When providing sibling support, we use developmentally appropriate language to help them understand why their brother or sister is hospitalized. Supporting and educating siblings helps reduce fears and misconceptions they might have.”  

‘Many children I meet are going through their first significant medical experience.’

Shayla Embry first learned about the role of child life specialists from UK Department of Family Sciences newsletter. She always knew she wanted to work with children in a health care setting, so this career felt like a perfect fit. After graduation and completing her internship, Embry began her role as a CCLS in the UK Golisano Children’s Makenna David Pediatric Emergency Center, where many children get their first hospital experience.

“In the emergency department, many children that I meet are going through their first significant medical experience,” said Embry. “This allows us to teach positive coping skills early to help prevent medical trauma down the road.”

For a little kid, the emergency department is a scary, overwhelming place full of strangers and confusion. The pain of their injury or illness is compounded by the fear of the unknown. While emergency providers have specialized training in caring for pediatric patients, sometimes taking the time to explain situations and alleviate their patients’ fears must take a backseat to providing urgent medical care. That’s where Embry and the other child life specialists come in.

“One unique challenge that children in the emergency department face is undergoing a trauma alert in the case of a critical injury,” she said. “A trauma alert can be very overwhelming for a child due to the high number of people in the room, multiple procedures taking place at once, and the fear of being in a new environment. As an emergency department CCLS, my role is to help the child understand what is going on by using developmentally appropriate language and remaining calm amidst the chaos.”

For most children, their only experience with a medical setting is their yearly trip to the pediatrician. As harrowing as a trip to the emergency department can be, Embry and her colleagues turn adversity into opportunity — the chance to foster a positive, educational environment where kids can build the coping skills to face any medical matter they encounter in life.

“I recently worked with a 6-year-old who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and had a fear of needles,” she said. “This type of diagnosis is the beginning of a lifelong medical journey that requires frequent pokes. Using real medical equipment and developmentally appropriate language, we made a plan together for how to get through tough pokes. She was able to have two IVs placed without a single tear. The patient’s mother was incredibly grateful for my involvement in her daughter’s care and wrote that the presence of a child life specialist during her diagnosis ‘truly changed the trajectory of her experience.’”

‘I knew that I wanted to make that same kind of impact’

Growing up, Nichols saw several childhood friends battle cancer and witnessed the toll it took on them and their families.

“I saw firsthand how a diagnosis can completely turn a patient and their family’s lives upside down, but I also saw the impact that child life specialists are able to make on patients,” Nichols said. “Each of my friends who were frequently hospitalized talked about how incredible their child life specialist was, and I knew that I wanted to make that same kind of impact on kids.”

After completing her internship, Nichols began her full-time position in the acute care unit of the children’s hospital in January 2026. Using play as therapy, she helps patients understand what they need to do to get better. She recalls working with one young patient who had never learned to swallow pills. She worked with him every day during his admission, helping him build the skills his treatment required. Over time, there was more than just an improvement in his physical health.

“I witnessed more than just skill development; I watched him grow,” she said. “Not only did his ability improve, but his demeanor began to shift. He gradually warmed up to his health care team, and I could see his confidence in himself strengthening each day.”

Nichols knows that every family’s response to hospitalization or complex medical treatments is going to be different. Supporting families and ensuring that patients have a positive hospital experience — which in turn impacts their treatment and recovery — starts with a very basic tenant: trust.

“Whether a patient is with us for one night or several months, building genuine, trusting relationships is at the center of my work,” she said. “I strive to ensure every patient and family feels seen, heard and deeply valued. Above all, my goal is to help children feel less afraid, more understood, and reminded that they are still kids first, even in the hospital.”

Learn more about how you can support the work of the Child and Family Life staff at UK Golisano Children’s.

Kentucky Children’s Hospital is now Golisano Children’s at UK. Read about this change and the historic $50 million gift that will transform health care for Kentucky’s kids: ukhealthcare.com/golisano.