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Lots more fun, lot less scary

The "Pediatric Park" at Citrus Memorial Health System takes kids with open arms.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published August 13, 2006

INVERNESS - For kids, long hospital stays are grueling. You can read only so many magazines as a 12-year-old, and the limited, grainy television offerings are far from satisfying.

But thanks to local donors and doctors, young patients at Citrus Memorial Health System no longer have to endure this institutional boredom.

The hospital's new pediatric unit has a host of entertaining possibilities, including computer games, Play-Doh and Mr. Potato Head.

Patients can start reaping its benefits Monday, the first official day of operation.

But some started testing out the amenities earlier.

During an open house Thursday, children gravitated toward what's sure to become the most popular spot in the unit: the playroom.

When she worked at another pediatric unit, "the kids were always in the playroom," said Melanie Hynes, who will serve as a nurse in the new unit.

But beneath the flashier elements - DVD players in every room, brightly painted walls, shiny toys - lie subtle differences that make the unit more kid friendly.

"There's a common misconception that kids are little adults," said Ryan Beaty, Citrus Memorial Health System's president and chief executive officer. "That's just not true."

Ironically, as awareness has grown about children's different needs, more and more doctors have found it difficult to get malpractice insurance for treating kids.

"The old family doctor used to see everybody and do surgery and birth babies," Beaty said. "Now doctors feel more susceptible to being sued when they work with kids."

Hospital officials realized a need for expanded children's services in Citrus, and a donation from Mike and Kautia Hampton "got the ball rolling," said Citrus Memorial Health System spokeswoman Rebecca Martin. The unit took only a few months to complete.

The Pediatric Park suite, named for the park-themed murals that adorn the unit, will employ only doctors and nurses specially trained to work with children.

"The dosages are different. You're dealing with different emotional factors," said Hynes, who has already undergone training to work with kids. "You want it to be as homey as possible."

And as separate as possible.

Children often find adult units frightening and overwhelming. Though the hospital generally tried to cluster kids near nurses' stations, that didn't shield them from the sterile environment or noise of other patients.

"This gets them out of the population," said chief operating officer Jerry DeLoach. "It's important to have a separate area designed just for them."

The suite has four rooms, all with glass doors that face a central nurses' station.

"The nurse will have eyeball vision on all patients all the time," Beaty said.

Each has its own specially sized equipment and cushy recliners for parents to sleep on.

The unit is also an oasis of safety, with a locking door that leads to the wing and security windows.

Martin said this just a start. The hospital plans to expand the section in the future, creating more space for kids.

They will try to keep rooms as appealing as possible, recognizing that "no kid's ever going to ask to go to the hospital," Beaty said.

Not necessarily so, Martin said jokingly.

After seeing the new suite, one young patient said "she was sorry we didn't have all this when she was here," Martin said. "She said she'd need to have her tonsils or something taken out."

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 564-3627.

[Last modified August 12, 2006, 20:52:42]