A Child-Friendly Emergency Room

In order to remain fiscally solvent, a hospital made necessary but drastic changes in the way it conducted business. In the process, the pediatric wing closed and many children had to use the emergency room as their primary-care facility. Children visiting the emergency room expressed fear and discomfort around their experiences at the hospital.

Students volunteered to change the appearance of the emergency room to ease the anxieties many of them were experiencing. Recognizing the need to create a "more nurturing" or "less frightening" emergency room experience, the kindergarten class set out to create a pleasant place for children to be with their families. After touring the facility with their teacher, these children created artwork to decorate the walls and purchased toys for the waiting room area, changing the hospital emergency room experience for all their peers.

The children also wrote a book explaining emergency room procedures to children and their parents. Interviewing hospital personnel, from the CEO to members of the housekeeping staff, the children not only collected pertinent information for their book, but also made discoveries regarding medical careers, safety precautions, and germs. The book remains available to emergency room visitors.

In the spirit of caring about others, a class of five and six year olds learned early on that they could make a difference in the lives of others. Throughout the school year, the children maintained their enthusiasm as they took steps to make the emergency room more family friendly.

Adapted from "Community Lessons: Integrating Service-Learning Into K-12 Curriculum," 2001, Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Service Alliance, and Learn and Serve America. Used with permission of Massachusetts Department of Education, www.doe.mass.edu/csl, (781) 338-3000.