February 20, 2020
By uclahealth 
“I have a sister who was born with kidney disease, so I grew up visiting the hospital,” reflects Ludven Argueta, a chef who brought cookie-decorating supplies for patients at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Santa Monica. “This is my first time doing something like this, and it’s great. It gets the kids involved and gives them […]
Tags: featured, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, UCLA Health Santa Monica Pediatrics
November 25, 2019
A Milestone Year for Mattel Party on the Pier
By uclahealth
Beautiful Santa Monica weather provided the perfect backdrop for the 20th annual ‘Party on the Pier’. The event attracted more than 2,000 attendees this year, generating close to $1-million in contributions. Proceeds from the event will help provide unrestricted funding to launch high-priority programs that benefit children treated at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and help support […]
Tags: featured, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, Mattel Party on the Pier, pediatrics
December 21, 2016
Fever 101: The why, how and what to do for fevers in children
By uclahealth
“I don’t feel so good,” your child groans. You put a hand to your child’s forehead, and sure enough, it’s warm to the touch. Fever strikes again! A fever is not an illness itself – it is actually a sign that the body is fighting off an infection. And while fevers may cause your child […]
Tags: body temperature, children fever, Dr. Carlos Turner, fever, fevers, illness, irregular breathing, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, pediatrician, seizure, stiff neck, thermometers
December 8, 2016
Music therapy strikes a chord with patients and families
By uclahealth
How do you help a child who’s become so fearful in the hospital that she has stopped speaking? The answer may be “Blowin’ in the Wind” — or maybe “Fight Song.” Whichever tunes moved this little girl to speak, it was music to her music therapist’s ears. Stories like these are why staff and families […]
Tags: evidence-based, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, music, music therapist, music therapy, neonatal intensive care unit, physical therapy
December 5, 2016
Making the ordinary possible for pediatric patients
By uclahealth
No child wants to spend days in the hospital, let alone weeks or months. Yet that’s the reality for many pediatric patients battling chronic or life-threatening conditions at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “When you work every day with medically fragile children, you get to know them and their families really well,” says Nancy Hayes, manager […]
Tags: Chase Child Life Program, chronic illness, donate, donating, Everyday Wish Fund, hospitalized children, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, pediatric patients
August 15, 2016
Simple treatment could help preemies breathe better
By Amy Albin 
Each year in the U.S., about 150,000 babies are born after only 23 to 34 weeks of gestation, which puts them at risk for apnea of prematurity, a condition in which breathing stops, often for several seconds. For parents, it can be frightening to watch when the alarms in the neonatal intensive care unit beep […]
Tags: apnea of prematurity, breathing problems, Dr. Kalpashri Kesavan, hypoxia, low oxygenation, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, neonatologist, neonatology, neurobiology, news, NICU, preemies
July 21, 2016
Tips to help kids catch more zzz’s while hospitalized
By Amy Albin
As parents of hospitalized children know, sleep for young patients can be hard to come by in the hospital because so many things can disturb the normal sleep pattern the child has at home. Staff at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA have found a way to help. An initiative called Supporting Sleep for Health and Healing, […]
Tags: bedtime, childrens health, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, parents, sleep, sleep and children, sleep pattern
July 12, 2016
People-Animal Connection teams providing tuck-in and literacy services
By uclahealth
Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA is not going to the dogs. The dogs are going to the hospital. UCLA’s People-Animal Connection (PAC), the animal-assisted therapy program that provides critically ill children and adults with companionship and comfort during their hospital stay, has launched two new programs. The tuck-in program provides hospitalized children and adults with comforting […]
Tags: animal-assisted therapy, children, literacy program, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, PAC, Santa Monica, UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center Santa Monica, UCLA People-Animal Connection, volunteers
June 13, 2016
Give, gather, fund. Giving circle supports science
By Amy Albin
Many physician-scientists have ideas for research that could lead to new treatments or cures for the patients they treat. But getting federal funding to support that research isn’t always easy. That’s why a “giving circle” at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA has so much impact. It offers pediatric physician-scientists the opportunity to pitch their ideas, win […]
Tags: bacteria, Dr. Elizabeth Marcus, Dr. Kalpashri Kesavan, Dr. Katherine Wesseling-Perry, Dr. Noah Federman, Dr. Sherin Devaskar, Ewing Sarcoma, heart health, kidney disease, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, medical research, neonatologist
May 13, 2016
Why parents need a hospital playroom too
By Amy Albin
Everyone knows that, for kids, being in the hospital is no fun. That’s why UCLA Health’s child life specialists make sure hospitalized kids still get to be kids. They staff playrooms, orchestrate social events and bring movies and games to kids’ bedsides. Now, child life experts nationwide are recognizing that kids’ parents, who are stressed […]
Tags: adult caregivers, Chase Child Life Program, child life specialists, children’s health, family resource room, family-centered care, Kellye Carroll, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, pediatric patient, Shannon Allbright, volunteer
