Does your teddy bear need a check-up or something to be fixed? James Cook University in Townsville, Australia opened its Teddy Bear Hospital to help you out.
The James Cook University Teddy Bear Hospital is now officially open. It came about after an idea from JCU medical students.
They want to promote proper health care to children by showing them some of the procedures doctors do. The Teddy Bear Hospital has already visited several schools and also kindergartens in the area. Also, the students are planning an even bigger event.
The Teddy Bear Hospital goes mobile
Next month they will set up a one-day mobile health teddy bear clinic. It will be at the Stockland Shopping Center. The event will be on October 8th 2016.
“Children can come with their families and their teddy bears to meet student doctors and help with the ‘check-up’ of their teddy,” Ms Nikki Petrakis said to the Townsville Bulletin. Petrakis is the coordinator of the Teddy Bear Hospital.
The sessions at the hospital include dental hygiene, healthy eating, exercises and sun safety. The clinic also has an x-ray, bones check-up and a teddy bear eyes, ear and throat check-up. Visitors will also learn about CPR.
The main goal of the Teddy Bear Hospital is to show kids there’s nothing scary going to the doctor. Also, they can even feel like doctors by helping their teddy bear or other stuffed animal.
“It is about putting healthcare back in to the hands of the kids. A lot of the conditions we see are mostly preventable but it is much harder to reverse a chronic disease once bad habits are formed”, Petrakis adds.
