Oswego Health to use Boeheim Foundation donation for work on pediatric emergency room

OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Health will use a $10,000 donation from the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation to design a “pediatric friendly” emergency room (ER).

With the support from the Boeheim Foundation — along with a previous $12,000 donation from Little Lukes Preschool and Childcare Center in 2018 — the renovation work to create a “kid-friendly space” will begin in 2020, Oswego Health announced Monday.

 “As you can imagine we have a significant number of pediatric patients each year in the emergency department and it’s important to the physicians and staff that while these young patients are here that they are as comfortable as possible,” Dr. Wajeeh Sana, emergency services medical director at Oswego Health, said in a statement. “By providing both a comfortable environment and age-appropriate activities they will be more at ease.”

Oswego Health cites a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that says children’s pain is “often underestimated” in hospitals’ emergency departments because children “may have difficulty conveying the severity of their symptoms.”

The general anxiety of the ER experience “only heightens” children’s pain, per the report. Children may be confused about what’s happening to them and why they’re being poked and prodded by doctors, so it may make them even more uncomfortable.

The report suggests dedicating a small section of an emergency department “as a place for children,” with colorful walls and furniture, and toys and games for children.

Oswego Hospital’s emergency-services department provides care to more than 25,000 visitors each year. Of those patients, in 2018, the emergency department treated 2,823 patients younger than 13 years old and 1,485 patients between the ages of 14 and 18.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com