Surgery can be a really scary experience, regardless of our age; however, one hospital is doing something unusual to help lower the fears of their patients in one of the most unique ways.
The Doctors Medical Center in Modesto in California bought two mini cars for its youngest patients to ride into when they head to the operating room in order to keep them calmer and lower their worry.
One car is a black Mercedes and the other is a pink Volkswagen Beetle. They purchased the first car whereas the second one was donated by one employee and her family.
Mini Cars for Young Patients to Feel less Stress before Surgery
The center hopes that these cars will help lower the stress, fear, and anxiousness in children before they head into the operating room.
When a child finds out they can go into the room while riding in a car, they light up and in some, the fears melt right away, claims the pre-op nurse working there, Kimberly Martinez.
She’s also the one who came up with this unique idea.
This method, Martinez believes, is also good for the parents- when they see their child more relaxed, they’re automatically more relaxed too.
She hopes that the advantages of their practice will have long term benefits as it can be quite traumatizing for youngsters to be taken away from their parents when they need to be prepped for surgery and for the surgery itself.
Martinez thinks the cars are something that helps everyone who’s involved. She also explains that the 2 cars are specially made for children, ages 2 and 7.
Both of them have a stereo with music and an MP3, taillights, headlights, and dashboard lights.
The child can operate the car himself or it can be controlled via a remote. And, most importantly, the cars are very safe- they have a horn, seatbelts, and working doors.
How Did Martinez Come Up with this Idea?
The idea of making these cars a part of their surgery unit at the pediatric department in the hospital was proposed by Martinez.
After she did some research, she discovered that this method can have a long-term positive effect on the children.
It soothes their fears and helps the medical staff have an easier time doing the procedure and explaining the information to the child about the surgery at their level of understanding- it’s pivotal to remove fears and guilt.
The child needs to realize why the surgery is necessary and to become more familiar with the surroundings in the hospital and the procedures.
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