Coordinator, Child Life Services

St. Luke’s University Health Network; Bethlehem (Northampton County); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Luke's University Health Network is seeking a Coordinator of Child Life Services to develop and lead a pediatric Child Life program across the service line. The role collaborates with OR/ED/Inpatient/PICU leaders to assess needs and implement a sustainable program.

Responsibilities include clinical supervision, training, quality metrics, and providing age-appropriate education and coping strategies for families and children in a caring hospital environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in child life, psychology, child development, education, or related field is required.
• Child life internship is required.
• Child life certification is required and must be maintained throughout employment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead in the identification of needs and development of a Child Life program within the Pediatric Service Line.
• Work with service line leadership to assess areas to support, identify needs for additional recruitment, and determine support services necessary to implement and sustain a Child Life program.
• Work in conjunction with service line leadership to develop quality/ performance metrics to track program success.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives.
• Work in conjunction with service line leadership to provide program leadership, consultation, program development, education, clinical supervision, and oversight of the daily activities for Child Life services.
• Conduct developmental assessments and individualize care plans based on the patient’s physical, developmental, and emotional needs.
• Participate as a clinical member of the patient care team by providing developmentally appropriate education, psychological procedural preparation, coping support, comfort management, and play opportunities to pediatric patients and families.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate effective pediatric patient and family centered health care plans, including as needed for behavioral support/modification, medication/treatment compliance, and bereavement support.
• Communicate care plans to interdisciplinary care teams and family members.
• Assess need for, develop, and deliver educational trainings for Network care teams on developmental care, coping mechanisms, distraction, parental engagement, therapeutic play techniques, etc. in an effort to improve the pediatric care experience.
• Represents and provides the child life perspective on hospital committees.
• Provide supervision of students and volunteers, including onboarding, training, assignments, and scheduling.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in child life, psychology, child development, education, or related field

Child life internship

Child life certification

Job description

St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care. The Coordinator, Child Life Services is responsible for the development and implementation of a Child Life program within the Pediatric Service Line. Responsible for meeting and working with key stakeholders across the service lines (OR/ED/Inpatient/PICU, etc.) to assess the need for Child Life Services within these areas and a develop an implementation plan for the program.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as the lead in the identification of needs and development of a Child Life program within the Pediatric Service Line.
• Work with service line leadership to assess areas to support, identify needs for additional recruitment, and determine support services necessary to implement and sustain a Child Life program.
• Work in conjunction with service line leadership to develop quality/ performance metrics to track program success.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives.
• Work in conjunction with service line leadership to provide program leadership, consultation, program development, education, clinical supervision, and oversight of the daily activities for Child Life services.
• Conduct developmental assessments and individualize care plans based on the patient’s physical, developmental, and emotional needs.
• Participate as a clinical member of the patient care team by providing developmentally appropriate education, psychological procedural preparation, coping support, comfort management, and play opportunities to pediatric patients and families.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate effective pediatric patient and family centered health care plans, including as needed for behavioral support/modification, medication/treatment compliance, and bereavement support.
• Communicate care plans to interdisciplinary care teams and family members.
• Assess need for, develop, and deliver educational trainings for Network care teams on developmental care, coping mechanisms, distraction, parental engagement, therapeutic play techniques, etc. in an effort to improve the pediatric care experience.
• Represents and provides the child life perspective on hospital committees.
• Provide supervision of students and volunteers, including onboarding, training, assignments, and scheduling.

PHYSICAL AND SENSORY REQUIREMENTS:

• Sit up to 2 hours per day; 1 hour at a time.
• Stand for up to 10 hours time; 3 hours at a time.
• Walk 6 hours per day; 10 minutes at a time.
• Consistently lift and carry objects up to 10 lbs.
• Frequently push objects up to 10 lbs.
• Occasionally lift and carry objects up to 50 lbs.
• Frequently stoop and bend.
• Occasionally squat.
• Frequently reach above shoulder level objects.
• object through touch.
• Frequently finger and handle objects.
• Occasionally firmly grasp, twist and turn and turns objects with hands and fingers.
• Must be able to hear as it relates to normal conversation.
• Must be able to see as it relates to general, near, far, color, and visual monotony.

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in child life, psychology, child development, education, or related field required.
• Child life internship required.
• Child life certification required and must be maintained throughout employment.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of five years experience as a child life specialist preferred.
• Two years overseeing and developing a child life program preferred.

St. Luke's University Health Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 23,000 employees providing services at 16 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue in excess of $4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital. SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital. The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Premier 13 times total and eleven years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally. St. Luke’s is the ONLY health care institution in the Lehigh Valley to be named a Top Workplace regionally repeating the exclusive honor for the third year in a row. Also, for the third straight year, St. Luke’s has been a Top Workplaces in the Philadelphia Region by the Philadelphia Inquirer, ranking 9th in the large employer category for 2025 and the only health care system in PA to receive this award. In 2025, St. Luke’s was recognized as a national Top Workplaces by USA Today, three years in a row, including the 3rd best health care system in the nation in 2023 and 2024. Lastly, in 2025, St. Luke’s was named a Top Workplace in New Jersey for the third year in a row. Learn More Here.