ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / June 10, 2000

LAPLACE – As adults, we all know how scary and intimidating a hospital can be. So, you can imagine how a small child feels when he or she has togo into the hospital due to an illness or for a surgical procedure.

With the opening of the Pediatric Treatment Room, River Parishes Hospital hopes to make their younger patients feel comfortable and safe in a hospital environment.

Located in the Medical/Surgical Unit, the room is filled with bright posters and pictures and lots of stuffed animals alongside all the medical equipment.

Registered Nurse Debbie Zeringue, Nurse Manager of the Medical/Surgical Unit, said the concept of the Pediatric Treatment Room is to have a place where all the “bad” stuff is done to the child patient. The room is used tostart IV’s, give shots, draw blood and all the other painful and scary procedures.

“We want our pediatric patients to feel that their hospital room is a safe place,” said Zeringue. “So we take them out of their patient room and bringthem to the treatment room whey they need to have a procedure performed.”When the child patient is returned to their regular room they won’t associate it with pain or discomfort and the child will feel safe.

The treatment room has been open for less than a month, but already the hospital staff is seeing positive results.

“The kids respond favorably to the nurses in the pediatric treatment room as well as in their ‘safe’ rooms,” said Zeringue.

Nurses and doctors also like the treatment room, because all the necessary medical equipment is readily at hand. There is no need to roll inspecial pediatric equipment into a patient’s room which makes treatment a whole lot easier. A lot of medical equipment for children is speciallysized for their small stature.

“Kids get sick very quickly,” said Zeringue, “and it is great to have a pediatric crash cart right there for emergencies.” Zeringue said there is another reason why the pediatric nurses like the treatment room.

“All the cribs are at a good height in there,” said Zeringue, “and that makes it easier for the nurses to take care of the patients.”The treatment room is part of a program by RPH to take better care of pediatric patients. The hospital has been upgrading pediatric nursingskills, and making sure that each child patient is taken care of by a pediatric nurse.

“People have to remember that children are different as patients,” said Zeringue. “One has to remember the growth and development of a child.”Also, medicating a child patient can be tricky, and hospital staff has to be very careful when giving medicine.

“We double-check all medications,” said Zeringue, “and prescriptions are checked by two different nurses to make sure the patient is getting the correct medicine.”Zeringue said that most of the pediatric nurses have kids of their own, and are sympathetic with parents and children.

“They know all about the parents’ and childrens’ apprehensions,” said Zeringue.

Most of all, Zeringue feels that children and adult patients alike feel a lot better at RPH because of its size and location.

“We are a small hospital,” said Zeringue. “Everybody knows everybodyaround here. The patients know that they will be taken care of here. Thepatients feel better with a local staff.”

Return To News Stories