One of the strangest changes I experienced when we moved to the Triangle was hospital awareness. It seemed that every other person I met had an occupation that I couldn't pronounce or define. And then there were those big hospitals looming everywhere. When my daughter broke her arm and went to emergency, I had strong sense of technological overkill and I've often had the feeling that there isn't a specialist you couldn't find in the Triangle if you were in need.
There are two great new books out about hospitals that health professionals should know about. The first, Going Home, by Margaret Wild, published by Scholastic, is for a child as young as four. Hugo is a small boy who's hospital-bound and bored. While the other children play cards and watch T.V., the noises of a nearby zoo fuel Hugo's imagination and he travels on extraordinary adventures through rain forests and high mountains. Bright, bold illustrations add cheer and might open doors to imaginary escape for a child spending time in the hospital.
James Howe's The Hospital Book, has been re-issued by Morrow. It's a photographic introduction to hospitals for children six and up. Black and white pictures and careful explanations guide children from admissions, to their rooms, explaining everything from the role of a nurse, strangely shaped hospital pans, and EKG and IPPB machines. Care is taken to describe feelings throughout and to give children a sense of what behaviors to expect and what will be expected of them.