Tuesday, June 13, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.
A hospital can be a scary place, particularly for children.
The bland walls, antiseptic smell and general feeling of fear traditionally associated with hospitals keep them off most youngsters' lists of favorite places.
University Medical Center and Sunrise Children's Hospital are among a growing list of hospitals trying to change that - particularly for children such as Carla Suastegui.
Carla has been going to UMC regularly since she was 3 months old. Her chronic blood disorder requires treatments every three weeks.
"It used to be every five weeks, but now the doctor said it should be every three," Carla explains. "I've gotten used to the needles and stuff, but I still don't like it."
The 9-year-old has long dark hair, brown eyes and a smile that lights up a room. The only visible sign that she is ill is the tube that runs from her arm to a monitor attached to a pole, which she wheels around wherever she goes at UMC.
Until recently, Carla's hospital recreation consisted of hanging out at the nurse's station or occasionally spending time in a small playroom with white walls, a cold tile floor and "the same old toys."
In April, however, UMC, in conjunction with the Toys "R" Us Children's Fund and the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, dedicated a state-of-the-art playroom at the hospital. The room includes interactive games, play areas for children of all ages and a computer system. There is also space for child-life specialists to explain medical and surgical procedures in a less-intimidating, more kid-friendly environment.
The early reviews are promising.
"I love it," Carla says. "I'll be in here a lot."
More and more, health care professionals are recognizing the role environment can play in the recovery of young patients.
"That is a major component of children's medical care within an institution," says Dr. Jack Lazerson, a pediatrician and director of hematology at UMC. "They definitely respond better when they are comfortable with their surroundings."
Lazerson, who is also a professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, said a hospital stay can be especially traumatic for children. Not only is there the fear associated with the illness or condition itself, there is also anxiety over having to stay in an unfamiliar place, often for the first time.
Sue Waltermeyer, a child-life specialist at Sunrise, says the goal is to make the hospital as normal as possible.
When Sunrise began to look at renovation, amenities such as private rooms, Internet capability and built-in beds for parents were all priorities.
"Families who have experienced the old and now the new have told us how much they appreciate the changes," Waltermeyer says.
"Most kids like the private room because they can spend as much time as they want with the family and they can always visit the other patients, which we encourage."
Other conveniences at Sunrise include a family kitchen, a family conference room, a playroom and a teen room.
"We're able to be a little more age-specific," Waltermeyer says. "The old playroom with its scaled down furniture and kids' toys was less inviting for teens."
Much emphasis is placed on recreation, she says, and for good reason. Studies repeatedly have shown that recovery times are quicker and hospital stays are shorter in hospitals with first-rate recreational facilities.
"For children, play is familiar and comforting, and so many things in a hospital can be unfamiliar and discomforting," she says.
Another advantage, according to Waltermeyer, is that interaction with other patients can actually bring a sense of normalcy the children may not experience outside the hospital.
"One or two kids in a room may share a diagnosis. If they talk to another kid with diabetes, or a cancer patient sees other kids with bald heads, maybe they feel a little less isolated. They realize somebody else has this, too."
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