Massage & Bodywork

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2019

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60 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 9 Successful Communication Includes Other People "Hospitals rely so much on teams working together," Mowbray says. "Good, efficient communication is the secret to that, as well as always assuming the other person is having the worst day ever. Kids are always listening, even if they don't answer you!" Charlotte turned 15 yesterday. She's been in the hospital for 143 days. That's just this admission. Charlotte's parents joke that they are "hospital frequent fliers." When Charlotte was 13 months old, she had a series of strokes that resulted in serious neurological impairment. Her parents are almost always at the bedside. They constantly talk to her. When you say Charlotte's name, she smiles, so they sing her name over and over. They are warm, funny people who offer candy and chips from their vast stock in the corner to every provider who enters the room … unless that provider speaks to them before they speak to Charlotte. The providers and visitors who talk over Charlotte, who don't tell Charlotte what they are about to do, who don't look at her while they provide care are met with polite, tight-lipped, single-syllable answers. It is easy to imagine that Charlotte can't understand words that are not her own name. It is easy to confuse nonverbal with noncommunicative. Even after working with Charlotte many times, it is hard for me to know what Charlotte enjoys and what she doesn't. She has a great deal of muscle spasticity. Her limbs are rigid, and she moves suddenly and jerkily. Sometimes her movement is voluntary, sometimes it's not. I'm not always sure if her movement is in response to my touch. Sometimes Charlotte moans with joy. Sometimes she moans with pain. It's not always clear to me which is which. Her parents are keenly attuned to Charlotte's language. I watch Charlotte What is Healwell? Healwell is a growing team of massage therapists who work with children at Children's National Hospital and also with adults at numerous other hospitals and clinical facilities. Healwell trains massage therapists across the country. It was founded in 2010 by Lauren Cates and Brenda Teal. Healwell offers continuing education for massage therapists and other health professionals to support meaningful integration of massage therapy, as well as interprofessional collaboration and self-awareness in effective and sustainable caregiving. Its team of specially trained massage therapists collaborate in care and partner with hospitals to create and conduct research about the feasibility and effect of massage therapy on people living with illness. Healwell is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. You can learn more about its programs at www.healwell.org.

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