Hillary D'Amato is a child life specialist in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

For the past 10 years, I have had the honor of working with pediatric patients and their families during their visit to the Emergency Department. The ED  can be a scary and stressful place for children and teens and my role as a Child Life Specialist affords me the opportunity to teach children and teens positive coping strategies. Whether I am preparing a patient for an upcoming test or procedure, playing I SPY with a patient during a procedure or blowing bubbles for a child who is crying, my goal is always to advocate for the pediatric patient and to help lessen the stress of the ED visit.