Healthcare Heroes: Alexa and Taylor
Alexa Kreisberg, Director of Child Life and Taylor Brower, Child Life Specialist
The Brooklyn Hospital Center
Taylor (left) and Alexa (right)
As a child life specialist, one must be able to wear different hats and take on numerous roles.
Alexa Kreisberg, Director of Child Life at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, and her colleague Taylor Brower, a Certified Child Life Specialist, are two incredible women who have done just that. They alway show up and give it their all with nothing but compassion and kindness for others, and remain committed to providing equitable care to the diverse population of Brooklyn, despite the rising disparities.
They have been nominated as healthcare heroes by their colleague, Carlene Vesprey.
Carlene nominated Alexa and Taylor for their unwavering dedication and support to their patients.
When asked why she nominated Taylor, she shares, “She is very caring and shows great compassion when dealing with her patients. She is always willing to contribute and support wherever she is needed!”
Carlene notes that Alexa was a joy to the entire Brooklyn Hospital institution during the pandemic. “With her writing of kind, supporting and motivating words on glass doors and sidewalks, and distributing messages from kids to staff, she encouraged everyone to ‘keep going'. She checked in to ensure all departments were supported and offered kind gestures to brighten staff and patients' spirits.”
Taylor and Alexa both shared with us the biggest challenges they have faced during the pandemic and how they have had to pivot over the last year.
“Child life pivoted to support the tremendous psychosocial needs of our staff who were working hard to keep our community safe. As our pediatric patient census dropped it allowed us to arrange different meal donations, create a ‘comfort cart’ with snacks and self-care items for staff, and take the time to speak with staff about their mental health and coping resources in hopes of helping to prevent burnout among hospital staff. We also expanded our program to servicing more pediatric areas of the hospital to help combat any fear that patient or parents might have had as they slowly began coming back into the hospital.”
Looking toward the future, they foresee and are preparing to help “children and families struggling psychosocially following more than a year of isolation and missing out on important developmental experiences that happen in childhood.”
Both Alexa and Taylor had just started in their roles at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in 2019, only a few months before the pandemic began.
Alexa shares, “We saw more than just the loss of lives; we also saw a wave of other losses that came along with the pandemic that we never knew to expect when this all began.”
Luckily, with their colleagues and staff, they were able to conquer these obstacles together which allowed them to grow tremendously, both personally and professionally. It helped Taylor and Alexa learn what it means to do a job that they love despite the hardships that may follow.
Taylor and Alexa shared how enCourage Kids has had a vast impact on their child life program during COVID. Funding from enCourage Kids has allowed them to gather supplies for 5,000 Emergency Department Comfort Bags containing activities and developmentally appropriate items for patients to have during their stay and take home with them afterward.
enCourage Kids Foundation is proud to honor these two heroes and share their stories. Alexa and Taylor make it their mission to ensure every patient who comes through their doors feels comfortable, welcomed, and included.
enCourage Kids Support to The Brooklyn Hospital Center
Total support given: $378,967.75 from direct funds, impactful pediatric programs, and resources to help make the hospital a better place to get better.
Grants funded: 14, valued at $215,384 for a range of projects, including comfort kits, seasonal holiday parties, enhancements to their playroom, and more.
Total Bears: 740 pediatric patients received an enCourage Kids Bear for comfort and to use to help cope with treatment and the hospital environment.
Total tablets: 4 Tablets loaded with fun and educational games that offer distraction from stress and wait times as well as educational apps for kids to learn about diagnosis and procedures.
Total provided in gift cards: $3,500 to purchase specific items to best meet the needs of their patients.
Total in-kind given: $16,187.85 including My Paint By Numbers and kids-friendly bandages, helping to improve the patient experience.