An interactive website to shed light on the hospital experience and dispel anxiety for thousands of Australian children living with a heart condition was launched at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) today.
The website, named Howie’s Place, is the first of its kind in Australia and features colourful child-friendly videos for children and families to ensure they are prepared and informed before they enter the hospital environment.
Through a partnership between the RCH and HeartKids, and generous funding from The Honda Foundation, Howie’s Place was developed in response to the anxiety families can feel before they enter the hospital environment. The supportive tool was designed to assist parents in preparing their child for cardiac treatment, tests and hospital admissions.
Lyndall Cowley, mother of seven-year-old cardiac patient Mia Cowley, said preparing a young child for major surgery was challenging.
“It can be a very scary time for the entire family. When Mia was coming to hospital before each of her four cardiac surgeries all we had at home was a basic children’s book about heart conditions, there was nothing to show her what it would be like when she came to hospital,” said Lyndall.
“Howie’s Place would have been a tremendous support. The website makes complicated information child and family friendly and will provide immense comfort for families during what can be a very difficult time,” she said.
RCH Director of Cardiology Dr Michael Cheung said coming to hospital for a simple test or for major cardiac surgery can be equally as daunting for the thousands of children that come to the RCH for cardiac treatment.
“The RCH performs over 10,000 echocardiograms and over 1000 heart operations each year. We are also the Nationally Funded Centre for paediatric heart transplantation and hypoplastic left heart syndrome.”
“Having a tool that allows our patients to gain an understanding about life in hospital when being treated for a cardiac condition, before admission and from the comfort of their own home, is invaluable,” he said.
The RCH is the largest paediatric cardiac centre in Australia, providing comprehensive cardiac surgical services for children from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and overseas.
HeartKids Victoria CEO Terry Hopkins said Howie’s Place was designed and tailored to ensure families had an interactive tool that was engaging and could educate and prepare both the patient and their family before they go to hospital.
“With generous long-term funding from The Honda Foundation and in partnership with the RCH we have been able to create this wonderful tool for families throughout Australia,” he said.
The website contains videos that feature the voice of the late Bud Tingwell as Howie – a loveable kangaroo character. In the ‘kids’ section of the website Howie guides children on a journey through the RCH, exploring the Koala (Cardiac) Ward and meeting doctors, teachers and educational play therapists. There is also a video that teaches children about their heart condition.
In the ‘families’ section, Howie tours the RCH, follows a patient who is having an echo and ECG test and explains what happens before and during a hospital admission.
For more information on Howie’s Place, visit the website at www.rch.org.au/howie
Click here to read about Howie’s Place on the Herald Sun website.