Contributed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s volunteers recently helped care for some very special patients at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden – stuffed animals that kids of all ages brought in for checkups or, in some cases, stitches.
For the second year in a row, Cincinnati Children’s partnered with the zoo to hold the Stuffed Animal Clinic. The zoo is just a few blocks down Erkenbrecher Avenue from Cincinnati Children’s Burnet Campus in Avondale.
The clinic simulated what it might be like for a child to visit a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner, complete with check-in, a patient chart, and exams with stethoscopes and tongue depressors.
Kids could help by shining flashlights into the ears or mouths of the plush critters. Zoo volunteers were ready with needle and thread to perform “emergency surgery” on toy animals that might have a loose button or open seam.
Several families with children staying at the Ronald McDonald House on Burnet Avenue, which is just steps away from Cincinnati Children’s main campus in Avondale, attended the event at the zoo. The families live temporarily at the Ronald McDonald House while their children receive extended care at Cincinnati Children’s.
“It was just really nice for them to get out of the house and be a normal kid over the summer,” said Jacquelyn Andrews, an Indiana resident whose children Bexley and Addalynn are patients at Cincinnati Children’s.
The event helped kids learn about healthcare and medical exams – as well as how the zoo cares for its real animals.
“Hopefully this inspires them to seek a career in medicine or something involving caretaking in nature,” said Kyle Wyrick of Loveland, who accompanied his sons Banks and Owen to the stuffed animal clinic.
This article consists of sponsored content from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Thank God for the Ronald McDonald house.