HUP’s Bring Your Children to Work Day was total success! Nearly 750 kids came to learn more about the inner workings of a hospital and to have fun. Missions accomplished!
Did you know the heart pumps the equivalent of 10 bottles of water a minute? That’s just one of the fun facts about the heart that kids learned from the Founders 10 staff. The kids painted wooden hearts – with plenty of glitz to go around – and learned how to take a pulse. Founders 5, the cardiothoracic SICU, gave them a chance to see and hold a real, dissected (pig) heart, and Founders 11 helped them learn the benefits of doing cardio exercises – like jumping jacks – and then checking each other’s heart rates with a stethoscope.
Ravdin 6, a thoracic unit, showed how the lung works creatively with an “artificial lung,” made from stretching a balloon placed over a plastic bottle cut in half and then blowing in the bottle with a straw. The kids also learned – and saw -- what the toxic chemicals in cigarettes do to the lungs. The neuro ICU on Rhoads 2 showed kids a real brain and taught them how to spot the signs of a stroke by acting FAST (recognizing face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and time to call 9-1-1.)
Silverstein 8 – HUP’s Maternity Unit --taught kids about the importance of safe sleep for newborns, and many got to test their hand at proper swaddling (snugly wrapping a baby in a thin blanket), used to keep a newborn warm and secure.
Nursing Administration planned a fun scavenger hunt in which teams followed “medical” clues that led them to a variety of areas throughout the hospital. Those who collected all 10 clues received a special prize! And Staffing for All Seasons taught kids how to properly “don and doff” (ie,put on and safely remove) personal protective clothing like gloves and gowns when caring for an infectious disease patient. Once "donned," they had to get vital signs on an “Ebola” patient.
These are just a sampling of the more than 30 fun and interactive demonstrations that staff created to make learning fun for their kids. Thank you!
Check out HUPdate’s slideshow of photos at below.