Wrap-Around Care: Shriners Children’s Avoids the Risks of Superficial Treatment

This is part two of a three-part series about the specialized wrap-around care provided to all patients at Shriners Children’s. To read part one, click here. To read part three, click here.

In the absence of the wrap-around care that Shriners Children’s provides all patients, a child might heal partially but not completely from the ordeal. “Surgery is a source of acute stress or trauma for children and families,” said Krystal Vermillion, MOT, OTR/L, a staff therapist at Shriners Children’s Greenville, referencing a systematic review and metanalysis published in 2021 that reported that 16% of children who undergo surgery and 23% of parents will meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“This can have long-term negative effects on well-being that last well into adulthood,” she said. “In the absence of wrap-around care, we cannot identify those children most at risk and attempt to intervene.”

Emphasizing that “every interaction a person has within the healthcare setting has the potential to help or hinder health and healing,” Vermillion champions a trauma-informed approach to wrap-around care. It “entails practicing cultural humility and being able to identify and respond to the signs and symptoms of trauma to avoid re-traumatization, build trust and improve communication between patients and providers.”