Schools in Hospitals

At the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, along with thousands of other hospitals across the nation, a new program is being implemented to add schooling to a child’s hospital stay. At the Nebraska Medical Center for example there is one teacher that will tutor students from the age of five to the age of eighteen. One hour she will be teaching algebra and the next teaching colors and shapes. There are some patients though that cannot leave their bed so they are taught with her right next to them. Others, who are healthy enough to leave, will go to a special classroom they have located on the 6th floor of the hospital.

Some kids that get really sick miss so much school that its almost impossible for them to catch up. I go on vacation and think its torture to make up a week of school. Some of these kids miss months or even up to a whole year. Having schooling available for them helps so they cant keep up and aren’t so overwhelmed when they get back into the swing of things. Also, having to go to school everyday helps them to take their mind off of why they are in the hospital and give them something else to try to accomplish and learn.

These students still are missing out on the once in a lifetime opportunities that you only get in school. Such things include the butterflies of the first day, prom, and football games. The teacher at the Nebraska Medical Center tries to recreate these events for her students to the best of her abilities. These kids that are stuck in the hospital need to be able to still live a normal life as they can. This helps them to do so. I think it in some ways can keep them happier too, which in turn would keep them healthier to some extent.