BARTOW - (July 2, 2009) – Polk County EMS recently donated a life-sized picture of an ambulance to Explorations V to be placed within their hospital exhibit.
It can often be a frightening experience for children to be hurt or sick and need to ride in an ambulance. Sometimes a ride in an ambulance can mean a trip to the hospital, separated from your family, having total strangers poke and prod at you.
Recognizing this, Polk County EMS and Explorations V, a hands-on museum experience for children, have teamed up to provide children with an opportunity to experience what an ambulance looks like in a make believe setting.
“Where we hope no child ever has to see the inside of an ambulance because of an emergency situation, we know that is not realistic. The unknown can be just as frightening as the emergency situation itself for patients of all ages,” said Harvey Craven, Polk County EMS Director. “Our hope is this will help provide some means of familiarity with what is often a person’s first contact with the medical care system in an emergency.”
Explorations V has a hospital exhibit where children can see and touch an exam table, x-ray machine, play with stethoscopes and many other “strange looking” equipment found in hospitals.
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