Child Life Council Urges Parents to Think Ahead to Ease Child's Hospital Visit

Child Life Council Urges Parents to Think Ahead to Ease Child's Hospital Visit

- Educational Program Prompted by Nearly 30 Million Annual Childhood ED Visits in US -

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking a child to the emergency department (ED) is a journey that parents dread making, but with approximately 30 million children's visits to the ED each year,(1) many families will face this experience at some point in their lives. To help parents and caregivers prepare, the Child Life Council, Anesiva, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSV) and Dr. William Sears, best-selling author of more than 30 books on parenting, created "Hospital 411: Tips Every Parent Should Know" -- a new educational program that arms parents with information they need to get ready for both planned and unplanned hospital visits for their children, especially the tough issue of managing pain associated with common procedures.

Parents are often unprepared for a hospital encounter and fear can spike before a hospital visit, particularly one that may involve painful procedures. In fact, many children begin their hospital visit with an IV insertion or blood draw, which are among the most frequently reported painful events in hospitalized children.(2) In 2004, more than 18 million peripheral venous access procedures (like IV insertions and blood draws) were performed.(3)

"In my experience, parents and pediatricians have long noticed that children who experience less pain in the hospital have less fear of hospitals as they get older and may even recover faster," said Dr. William Sears, an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.

"Hospital 411" offers parents a variety of practical resources, including tips for what they can do prior to and during hospital visits. The program also includes an on-line resource, http://www.getthehospital411.com/, containing information, guidance and support for parents seeking to better manage the hospital experience, such as ways to manage pain associated with common hospital procedures like blood draws and IV insertions. The Web site features five simple, downloadable tools that put important information directly at parents' fingertips:

-- A Wallet Card that parents can personalize with their child's medical history and information.

-- Printable Comfort Tips, such as managing children's procedural pain by asking for analgesia (topical local anesthetic), like Zingo(TM). Zingo provides rapid onset of analgesia in one to three minutes after administration. Doctors and nurses can use it before beginning a blood draw or IV insertion for children three to 18 years of age to reduce the pain associated with the procedure. (4)(5)

-- A Certificate of Bravery that parents can personalize and print out to reward their child after their hospital visit.

-- Kidz Korner, an interactive resource that poses common questions from parents with answers provided by an expert physician and nurse.

-- A Suitcase Packing Game that allows parents and children to learn how to prepare for hospital visits together, with a printable checklist at the end of the game.

"By being an advocate for their child and requesting that pain management be taken seriously, such as requesting the use of a new fast-acting analgesia for blood draws and IV insertions, parents now have access to a broad range of helpful tools," said Dr. Sears.

Unfortunately, hospital visits are a part of life for many children -- whether they regularly visit the hospital for a chronic condition like leukemia or cystic fibrosis, or they've had an accident and have been rushed to the ED. Many hospital visits occur during the school year -- more than 145,000 children ages five to 14 end up in the ED due to accidental injuries involving playground equipment, with three out of four playground accidents occurring on public playgrounds, like school facilities. (6) Regardless of the cause for the hospital visit, it's difficult for any parent to witness their child in pain.

"Child life specialists use their knowledge of growth and development of children to help patients and their families cope with the stress of the hospital experience," said Ellen Hollon, CCLS, from the Child Life Council. "Partnering with parents through the 'Hospital 411' campaign offers them specific strategies they can put into place to make any visit go as smoothly as possible."

For more information about "Hospital 411" and what parents can do to help prepare for a hospital visit, visit http://www.getthehospital411.com/. This educational initiative was supported by Anesiva, Inc.

About Zingo(TM)

Peripheral venous access procedures are among the most frequently reported painful events in hospitalized children.(2) The American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among other organizations, have developed recommendations that emphasize the importance of minimizing procedural pain in children whenever possible.(7) However, despite the existence of these recommendations, children undergoing these procedures remain largely under- treated.(8)

Zingo(TM) (lidocaine hydrochloride monohydrate) powder intradermal injection system, 0.5 mg is an easy-to-administer, single-use, needle-free system that delivers sterile lidocaine powder to provide topical, local analgesia to reduce the pain associated with peripheral IV insertions or blood draws, approved for use in children aged three to 18. Zingo's rapid onset of action allows intravenous line placement or venipuncture to begin one to three minutes after administration. In clinical trials, the most common adverse events with Zingo were redness, red dots and swelling. For full Zingo prescribing information, go to http://www.zingo.com/.

About Dr. William Sears

Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his "little patients" call him, is the father of eight children as well as the author of more than 30 books on childcare. Dr. Bill is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. He received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto -- the largest children's hospital in the world, where he served as associate ward chief of the newborn nursery and associate professor of pediatrics. Dr. Bill is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a fellow of the Royal College of Pediatricians (RCP). He is also a medical and parenting consultant for BabyTalk and Parenting magazines and the "resident" pediatrician on the Web site http://www.parenting.com/ and has his own Web site, http://www.askdrsears.com/.

About Child Life Council, Inc.

Child Life Council, Inc. is the leading membership association serving child life professionals as they empower children and families to master challenging life events. Child life specialists are experts in child development, who promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Understanding that a child's wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress.

To learn more about Child Life Council and the child life profession, please visit the CLC Web site at http://www.childlife.org/.

(1) Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health
System; Institute of Medicine. Emergency Care for Children: Growing
Pains. Future of Emergency Care series. The National Academies Press:
Washington, D.C., 2006.
(2) Wong DL and Baker CM. Pain in Children: Comparison of Assessment
Scales. Pediatric Nursing. 1988;14:9-17.
(3) Anesiva data on file.
(4) Zempsky WT, Bean-Lijewski J, Kauffman RE et al. Needlefree Powder
Lidocaine Delivery System Provides Rapid Effective Analgesia for
Venipuncture or Cannulation Pain in Children: Randomized, Double-Blind
Comparison of Venipuncture and Venous Cannulation Pain After Fast-
Onset Needlefree Powder Lidocaine or Placebo Treatment Trial.
Pediatrics. 2008;121(5):1-9.
(5) Zingo(TM) Full Prescribing Information, Anesiva, Inc., 2007.
(6) Safe Kids USA: Preventing accidental injury. Seasonal Safety, No. 1

Cause of Injury in Elementary School: Playground Accidents; http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=301&content_item_id=23310,

created August 2007, accessed May 1, 2008.
(7) American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of
Child and Family Health and American Pain Society Task Force on Pain
in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. The assessment and management
of acute pain in infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics.
2001;108:793-797.
(8) MacLean S, Obispo J, Young KD. The gap between pediatric emergency
department procedural pain management treatments available and actual
practice. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2007;23(2):87-93.

Source: Child Life Council, Inc.

CONTACT: Melissa Lang of WeissComm Partners, +1-212-301-7208,
mlang@wcpglobal.com, for Anesiva, Inc.; or Shari Rager of Child Life Council,
Inc., +1-301-881-7090, ext. 13, srager@childlife.org

Web site: http://www.childlife.org/
http://www.zingo.com/
http://www.parenting.com/
http://www.askdrsears.com/
http://www.usa.safekids.org/
http://www.getthehospital411.com/

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