Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) has long been a place where dedicated nurses, physicians and interdisciplinary teams work together to support patients of all ages through what can be complex and uncertain times.
As pediatric services continue to grow at the hospital, so too does the commitment to caring—not only for medical needs, but for people’s emotional and developmental well-being.
This commitment has recently been strengthened with the introduction of a new role at the hospital: a child life specialist.
The position represents an important expansion of pediatric health care support, complementing clinical care by focusing on the experiences of children and families during hospitalization.
And that’s where Alana Haynes steps in. As the newly appointed child life specialist, Alana can be found bedside using familiar language and play to help young patients prepare for a procedure, or in a hallway creating moments of joy and distraction. She also offers quiet reassurance to parents when needed.
Wherever she is, her work helps children and families feel supported, respected and understood throughout the care journey.
For Alana, this work is about one simple idea.
“Even in a hospital, children are still children and they still want to feel like a kid,” Alana shares.
Now, for the first time at KGH, there’s a specific role to make sure children can be the kids they are.
The call to care
Several years prior to starting her position, Alana had been on the other side of the hospital room.
Her youngest son was only a few months old when respiratory virus complications brought her family to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver for 10 days. It was a long enough stay to learn the language of monitors and feel time stretch and fold.
She found the team of doctors, nurses and specialists skilled and compassionate, and her son recovered. But something shifted in Alana.
At the time, she was already working with children and families in the community. It was meaningful work, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more she could do that was closer to those moments when families feel most vulnerable.
“I wanted to be a light in the dark,” notes Alana.
Becoming a child life specialist wasn’t just a career shift. It was a calling that started in that Vancouver hospital.
Storytelling, play ease stressful situations
At KGH, Alana moves through the halls and rooms preparing children for procedures, not just by explaining them, but by translating the language into something understandable. A needle becomes part of a story, a procedure becomes something they can rehearse, control and even play through.
“Do you want to try it on the teddy bear first?” she asks.
Sometimes patients say yes; sometimes they say no. What matters is giving them back a small amount of control in sometimes stressful situations.
“These interactions look different every day,” she says. “For one child, it’s art spread across a bedside table; for another, its music, a keyboard, a ukulele. Sometimes, it’s a soccer game in the hallway. Play is how kids process and cope. It’s how they heal.”
There are moments that stay with her, too. A child who had previously struggled through bloodwork worked with Alana to build a plan together. When it was over, there were no tears. The room felt lighter, the nurses noticed, the phlebotomist noticed.
“What did you do?” they asked.
Alana just smiled. It worked. The preparation led to trust. And when that happens, it doesn’t just help the child, it ripples outward. The family feels it. The staff feel it.
For Alana, the most remarkable part is the children themselves.
“They’re so resilient. Even in pain and uncertainty they still laugh and play.”
Their courage is noticed, and she learns from it every day.
Supporting patients, supporting parents
These young patients are only part of the story, however. Just outside the circle of play, there are parents carrying a different kind of weight. Alana sees them too.
She sits with them in quiet moments, listens when they need to speak, and validates what they’re feeling without trying to fix it. It’s sometimes the most important thing she can offer: just holding space.
Alana also helps translate medical language and supports parents in seeing their child’s experience through a different lens. She reminds them that they are part of the care team, that their voice matters and that they are not alone.
Alana is embracing the opportunity to be part of the pediatric care culture at KGH, acknowledging that sometimes what families need most is someone who can step into the hardest moments and bring a bit of lightness into their experience.
If you ask her what she hopes families take away, her answer is simple: “We’re here for you, just ask us.”
