Bridging the Gap: How Our School Re-Entry Program Helps Patients Thrive

For many children recovering from burn injuries or other serious medical conditions, returning to school can be challenging. Beyond the physical healing process, they can be anxious about returning to their school community after a long absence. To ease this transition, the Shriners Children’s Boston school re-entry program provides individualized support, ensuring patients feel confident and welcome when they return to the classroom.

The program was first conceived more than four decades ago, with the realization that transitioning out of the hospital, with splints, skin grafts or hair loss can be very difficult. Between the stares, abundance of questions and even sometimes teasing, children needed a support system to help them return to their everyday lives. If a patient’s family is interested in the re-entry program, a team from Shriners Children’s can explain aspects of their care plan, including treatments, bandages and other equipment in a school assembly with the patient present.

The program has since evolved to support patients and families by giving them step-by-step guidance for successful re-integration. Jackie Cola, a child life specialist who managed the program, said, “When we begin talking about (the process), it helps children start thinking of things they may expect will happen when they’re at school and how they want to share their story.” The psychosocial and school re-entry teams collaborate in supporting patients throughout their community reintegration. These include things such as leaving their hospital room for the first time or how to respond to staring in community places. This way, patients will be able to use transferable skills as they enter both the community and school.

The team will then contact the school’s administration to set up a presentation prepared by the school re-entry team in coordination with the patient and family. The presentation can be done in person or virtually, and typically consists of sharing information about the patient’s hospitalization, any new lifestyle changes, and lessons for their peers on how and when it is appropriate to ask questions. This way, the patient can feel empowered to share their story, and their peers can learn about ways to be inclusive. The school re-entry team provides additional support to teachers, principals, school counselors and students after the presentation, if needed.

“The main goal is to remove the mystery of hospitalization for the classmates that the child is going to be reintegrating with,” said Jackie. “We know kids are very curious, and it helps to address (their questions) all at the beginning, so the child can just focus on being themselves.”