And though they were getting impatient, KC said there was something for his son Sambidhan to rejoice: the colorful displays of artworks on the walls of the hospital.[break]
“He was looking at the pictures and was asking me to buy a horse and toys,” KC said, pointing to the artworks displayed on the wall, which is a collage of children playing in gardens, on swings, ponies, all portraying a fun picture.
He also noted that pictures and artwork distracted the children and temporarily gave them solace from their sickness.
And the doctors and nurses concur.
From the waiting area, through the stairs and some of the wards, Kanti Children’s Hospital’s walls are splashed with paintings, mainly images of smiling children who are playing and having fun.
And it has served its purpose, helping children to get indulged in art and forget their pain momentarily, said Sushila Shrestha, sister-in-charge of the Out Patient Department (OPD), who also looks after the colorful drawings in the waiting area on the ground floor of the hospital.
“It’s difficult for parents to console their children, especially when they are sick, and they have to wait,” Shrestha said. So the pictures at least help distract the kids.
It was Hunter Doherty “Patch” Adams, an American physician and social activist, who started promoting a different health care approach by incorporating humor in treating patients. Adams established the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971 just outside of Hillsboro in West Virginia. According to the Institute’s Web site, “Care is infused with fun and play.” And at Kanti, the ambience is of fun and play. Away from the waiting area, through the corridors and the stairways, the hospital looks like a colorful collage, and most of the drawings through the passage are of flowers, gardens, children and animals with happy and playful expressions.
But the pictures aren’t only limited to fun and games. Shrestha added that she has made a point that they convey some message to the children. And it’s visible in some of the drawings. Outside the dental department, the pictures speak for themselves—children brushing, how cavities attack the teeth, and of how one should take care of their dental hygiene.
On the second floor, there are more messages for children to take home, not only of hygiene but of nutrition too. There are pictures illustrating different categories of foods—Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and other graphic information.
“Even if 10 children take the message with them, tell others, it would be greatly help and serve our purpose,” Shrestha said.
Dr Tirtha Raj Burlakoti, director of Kanti Children’s Hospital, said that the hospital took this initiative so that the children can be entertained by the paintings and also learn from them.
“We’ll encourage this more at the hospital since it helps children psychologically – to be more peaceful and forget their pain,” he said.
Sister Shrestha reiterated that it would help children and would not make them dull during their sick days.
“We encourage more artists to come and do this,” Burlakoti said.
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