Modesto, Calif.-based Doctors Medical Center lets young patients drive to their own surgeries in mini cars, which helps alleviate patient stress, according to KTVU Fox 2.
"When they find out they can go into the operating room riding in a cool little car, they light up and, in most cases, their fears melt away," Krista Deans, a spokesperson for Doctors Medical Center, told KTVU Fox 2.
The car, a black Mercedes Benz, is loaded with a fully equipped stereo, preloaded with music, an MP3 player jack, working lights and a horn. If young patients cannot drive the car themselves, the mini convertible has remote control capabilities.
The practice also helps ease parents' anxieties about their child's surgery, according to Ms. Deans.
"[W]hen parents see their children put at ease, it puts them at ease as well," she told KTVU Fox 2. "It can be traumatizing for a young patient to be peeled away from their parents as they head into surgery. This truly helps everyone involved."
The idea of bringing the car into the hospital came from Kimberly Martinez, RN, a a preoperative nurse who sought ways to reduce pediatric patients' stress and anxiety heading into surgery.
More articles on patient engagement: