Kindergartners learn teddy bear healthcare at Elmore County High School

One by one, kindergartners brought in their favorite patients. Some had breaks and tears, others just needed checkups. It was all part of Wednesday’s first ever Elmore County High School Teddy Bear Clinic. 

“We want to help them feel more comfortable going to the doctor, dentist or hospital,” HOSA sponsor Wanda Baker said. “It helps my students who are thinking about going into a medical career. They get to practice their skills, taking blood pressure and other vitals, talking to a patient through fun activities.”

Just like any visit to the hospital the “patients” were tagged by the older students with identification. Vital signs were taken by both the high schoolers and the kindergarten students. There was a waiting room with arts and crafts and a game — Operation of course.

Everyone had stops in imaging with X-rays and MRIs, the emergency room and vaccinations. All students got involved in teddy bear surgery and a dental visit.

While it’s an effort to help the young students get more comfortable going to a medical appointment, it also exposes the members of HOSA to what a medical office might be like. In some ways, managing the mass of kindergarteners mimics the stress a medical professional might be under in a hospital or doctor’s office. The program also emphasized healthcare practices the youngest can do at home, such as brushing teeth.

“Mrs. Baker is great, all she wants to do is help kids,” ECHS junior Drew Knighton. “We are trying to help educate them on basic health items. It also lets them see some of what might happen if they go to the doctor or hospital.”

Knighton and the other members of HOSA who hosted the Teddy Bear Clinic are students in Baker’s Foundations of Health Sciences and Sports Medicine. It is a class Knighton became interested in while playing three sports. 

“I enjoy the health field,” Knighton said. “I am looking at athletic training as a career path and thought this would be an option.”