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Children's Hospital Campout
October 15, 2008 |
Green trees, a babbling brook, and even a smoky campfire; definitely not things
you’d expect to find in a hospital. But the staff at the Children’s Hospital of
Southwest Florida wanted to do something a little different for their patients,
so they brought the outdoors in.
“Tonight we’re having a campfire. We do it once a month; it’s just a fun thing.
It was an idea brought to us by a parent,” says Child Life Specialist Stacy Margaritis.
Steven Drum is a parent who has spent a lot of time at the Children’s Hospital of
Southwest Florida. He says, “I was thinking about that this is the only hospital
in the community that has a flowing river, a huge atrium, and foliage like in the
outdoors, and I’m thinking this would be the perfect environment for kids to have
kind of an indoor campfire.” While the flames and smoke may not be real, the good vibes certainly are. Stacy says, “The kids get to come down out of their room come
do a campfire. A fire in the hospital? Is it real? Is it hot? They love it they
think it’s so cool.” It’s a camping experience complete with s’mores and songs.
“My favorite part is that we all get together and sing campfire songs and it’s cool,”
says Brittany Pinkston. She attended the campfire with her younger sister who is
being treated for leukemia. Stacy says, “It’s very cool; they’ve all had a great
time.”
Bass Pro Shop donated all of the camping equipment for this event including, tents,
sleeping bags and stuffed animals. Hospital staff says they hope to have a campfire
at least one weekend a month. The Child Life department says their goal is to make
sure patients get the medical care they need and at the same time normalize the
hospital process and make it as fun as possible.
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