Why We Launched This Initiative

The Hospital Sensory Care Kit initiative began when an unexpected hospital admission changed the way Whitney Price and her family looked at hospital preparedness for families like theirs.

An unexpected medical emergency landed Whitney in the emergency room with her husband, Eddie, and their 8-year-old son, Connor. Because of the timing, the urgency and the situation, they arrived with nothing other than then clothes they were wearing. This left them without anything for their son, Connor. And nothing they would normally bring to support Connor.

Connor has significant support needs. His family is accustomed to preparing for unfamiliar environments with noise-cancelling headphones, sensory supports, communication tools, comfort items, and other things that help him communicate, regulate, and feel safe.

But there had been no opportunity to prepare for this.

It raised a question they had never really considered before: What happens when the caregiver becomes the patient?

And then an even bigger question: How many other families have found themselves in the exact same situation?

Emergencies don't give families time to pack the headphones, AAC device, weighted blanket, sensory tools, toiletries, or familiar comfort items. Sometimes families arrive with nothing because getting to the hospital is the only priority in that moment.

That experience became the reason behind UnPuzzled Parents Connect's Hospital Sensory Care Kit initiative.

We are working to place these kits directly inside hospitals so sensory, communication, comfort, and basic overnight necessities are already available when a child or individual with a disability needs them, whether they are the patient or unexpectedly there because their caregiver is.

What began with one unexpected hospital admission is now becoming a mission to bring Hospital Sensory Care Kits to hospitals throughout West Virginia.

Emergencies can't always be planned for. Support can be.

UnPuzzled Hospital Sensory Care Kits