More than 2,000 first graders are getting a big circus welcome at UAH’s college of Nursing, where a special Pretend Hospital is set up this week. Let’s Pretend Hospital is joint effort of Huntsville Hospital and the UAH College of Nursing.
“This year, the theme is the Greatest Hospital, based on the movie, the Greatest Showman,” said Dr. Melissa Foster. “We’ve got everything from a bearded lady to elephants, lions, tigers and bears.”
Dr. Foster says its all about educating kids about hospital visits. “Kids come through and find out– what do we do in a hospital? What can we expect if we are patients in a hospital?”
By creating a fun environment for the first graders, they hope to quell any fears and anxieties about hospitals.
“Although some of our machines may be big and seem scary, it’s really not,” said Dr. Foster.
Kids got to learn about things they might see in a hospital– like a lab, x ray or emergency room and also common scenarios.
“We’ve got a big teddy bear. Teddy bear pete fell and broke his arm,” said Dr. Foster. “We show that Teddy Bear Pete has a cast on, and sometimes we get scared when a cast is cut off. They talk about getting a saw and cutting it off. We have a cast cutter we show the kids and say it’s not going to hurt you. It only cuts the cast.”
Lucas, a first grader attending, says he’s feeling better about hospitals now. “They taught me about it and I started to understand what they did and it wasn’t so scary anymore,” he said.
“We were learning about x rays and what they might do to you,” said Ahlynn. “I was feeling excited because it was really interesting.”
