May 4, 2007

MGHfC's Children's Health Fair shines

Despite a steady drizzle, hundreds of elementary school students from across Boston and the children of MGH employees entered the Bulfinch Tents April 27 for the MassGeneral Hospital for Children's (MGHfC) eleventh annual Children's Health Fair. More than 50 MGH and MGHfC departments and units hosted booths, offering games, visual aids and other interactive tools to educate the children about health topics andprovide information about the hospital's various programs. Above, Pamela Wrigley, RN, of the Same Day Surgey Unit, shows some young fairgoers the ropes as Deborah Greenberg, RN, observes.

The fair's theme, "Happy Feet, Happy Hearts for Health," was based on the popular penguin movie "Happy Feet" and emphasized exercise and nutrition. Nurses, students and other hospital professionals staffed the booths and provided the children with
helpful information on topics such as heart, brain and bone health. The kids enjoyed dancing to music spun by Radio Disney's "Kick It Up Kelly" and received giveaway prizes, including jump ropes and hackey sacks, all of which were consistent with the fair's message, "Keep those happy feet moving!"

According to Ashley Reardon, MGHfC Child Life Services specialist, the fair "helps children learn about the hospital, which helps make the MGH a less intimidating place
in case they ever need to come as a patient." June McMorrow, RN, agreed, remarking that the Children's Health Fair "is a fabulous opportunity for children to learn about the MGH in a nonthreatening context, and it's a great way to meet our future cardiac surgeons!" For pediatric chaplain Rev. Ann G. Haywood-Baxter, MDiv, the event offered a truly special moment — a chance meeting with a former MGHfC kidney transplant patient, now three years older and, according to Haywood-Baxter, "the picture of health."

Says Mary Louise Kelleher, RN, the event's organizer, "This fair provides children
an opportunity to come to the hospital and learn about staying healthy in a fun and safe way. It is one of my favorite events. Best of all, there are many, many smiles." The fair was the concluding event of the MGHfC's eleventh annual Children and HealthCare Week, which included events such as Queen for a Day, a visit to the New England Aquarium's Tide Pool, a children and Internet safety seminar and a Moon Balloon workshop, during which MGHfC Artist-in-Residence Joan Drescher demonstrated ways caregivers can use art to communicate with patients and aid the healing process.