Young Doctors at Dogwood Elementary School

Kindergarten rooms at Dogwood Elementary School in Smithtown were recently transformed into clinics for teddy bears and other dolls.

Jane McCormack, the trauma program manager at Stony Brook University Hospital, and injury prevention outreach coordinator Kristi Ladowski, along with help from parents and teachers, held a teddy bear clinic at the school. Parents of kindergartners were asked to send their children to school with a teddy bear or stuffed animal, and the children had the opportunity to diagnose their teddy bears or dolls with an illness or injury and learn to address them with the correct treatment.

Children recreated some of the facilities at a real hospital, including a waiting room, a triage station, an exam room and a pharmacy where bandages and other “medicines” were dispensed.

“Teddy bear clinics are a fun and interactive way to teach children about health and wellness,” said Principal Renee Carpenter, who joined in the activity. “They also help to reduce or alleviate any fears of visiting doctors.”

Photos courtesy of the Smithtown Central School District: Dogwood ES teacher Jillian Terlato (back left) with Principal Renee Carpenter, kindergarteners and their patients during the Dogwood teddy bear clinic.