First-graders to visit mock hospital at Calhoun

Published 1:00 pm Sunday, April 7, 2019

More than 1,200 area first-graders will learn what happens when someone is admitted to the hospital as part of Calhoun Community College’s 19th annual Let’s Pretend Hospital.

The event, hosted by Calhoun’s Nursing and Allied Health departments in partnership with Decatur-Morgan Hospital and Athens-Limestone Hospital, will run 8:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. As part of the learning exercise, students are presented with age-appropriate information about being hospitalized.

The mock hospital is set up in Calhoun’s Health Science Center on the Decatur campus. Students and faculty from Calhoun’s nursing and allied health programs spend months planning and preparing for the event and transforming the building into an age-appropriate hospital setting, complete with games, nursery rhyme characters, and a number of hands-on activities.

Close to 200 of Calhoun’s Nursing and Allied Health students will participate each day.

“This event not only represents a great opportunity for our students to provide a community service but it also provides the first-graders with information and the opportunity to start thinking about careers in health care,” said Dr. Jennifer Louden, event organizer and Calhoun nursing instructor.

Calhoun currently offers health programs in associate degree nursing (RN), practical nursing (LPN), emergency medical services (EMT/EMS and paramedic), dental assisting, surgical technology, physical therapist assistant and medical laboratory technology.

About the hospital

First-graders from public and private schools in Morgan County, Decatur, Athens and Limestone County are expected to participate. As in previous years, students will tour the various areas of the mock hospital, learn about germs and hand washing, when to call 911 and the process of being admitted to a hospital.

“All of the information presented in this mock hospital setting is done on a non-threatening, first grade level,” said Bret McGill, dean of Calhoun’s Health Sciences division.

The mock hospital will include an admissions office, emergency room, hospital patient room, operating room, X-ray and discharge area. Students will also explore the college’s ambulance and have a chance to test the siren.

“This annual project gives Calhoun’s Nursing and Allied Health departments the opportunity to partner with two of our largest nursing employers, Decatur Morgan Hospital and Athens-Limestone Hospital,” McGill said. “It also gives our students first-hand experience in developing creative methods of teaching and to observe normal growth and development of first-graders.”