Epic Take Your Child Work Day at Hackensack University Medical Center

What’s it like to work in a hospital?

Imagine a giant beehive buzzing with activity, but instead of bees, it's filled with people in colorful scrubs, lab coats, uniforms, hairnets, even hard hats, rushing around. This is what a hospital is like! It's a busy place where lots of different people work together to take care of patients, each other, and even the environment.

More than 300 school-age children of team members spent the day learning about what their parents, grandparents and family members do in a day's work at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ, as part of today's observance of Take Your Child To Work Day.

Students visited or listened to demonstrations about topics such as nutrition, heart care, pediatrics, respiratory therapy, radiology and sustainability. Child Life was among the hospital departments that provided hand-on activities for the kids. With the Child Life team by their side, children bandaged the furry limbs of teddy bears and administered pretend immunizations. Oh, and the day did include bees, too. Via video, students were introduced to the tens of thousands of bees that also work at the hospital, in the apiary that provides honey for cooking. Those same bees contribute to pollination efforts around the community. Hackensack University Medical Center counts among the Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals that are home to an apiary.