The success of the Starlight Children’s Foundation’s “Captains on Call” program continues to be supported and expanded with the assistance of Cops for Kids. A $35,520 donation ensures the program can continue into 2024.
In 2018, Cops for Kids partnered with the Starlight Children’s Foundation to support a new pilot program at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital called “Captains on Call”.
The idea for this program was to introduce the Starlight Captains into the treatment room to assist clinicians with the care of patients as a positive distraction during the patient’s procedures to reduce children’s stress, anxiety and pain, and create a positive hospital experience. The program was implemented in the Burns Unit where Starlight Captains regularly attended to distract/entertain children during extremely painful procedures.
We are pleased to announce that Cops for Kids has recently donated $35,520 to the Starlight Children’s Foundation to continue its long-term support of the Captains on Call program.
An evaluation of the Captains on Call program in 2020 showed the program was extremely successful providing long-term health benefits with parents and nurses reporting that children were less anxious about follow-up visits. As a result, the program was expanded into the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic.
Due to the continued success of the program, Captains on Call has been introduced to other children’s hospitals around Australia.
CFK funds the full program in South Australia in the Burns and CF clinics.
This link highlights the impact of the Captains on Call program and how unique and special the program is. https://www.starlight.org.au/about-us/our-stories/captains-on-call-retinoblastoma
This program would not exist if not for Cops for Kids.
