Thanks to the generosity of a local dealership, some young hospital patients in Sherbrooke are arriving to their appointments in small electric cars.
It’s part of a new initiative at Fleurimont Hospital to calm children’s fears and nerves before medical operations and tests.
Sherbrooke’s Audi dealership donated the two mini cars to the hospital’s pediatric ward.
It’s also auctioning off actual cars to raise money for the Foundation of Stars, an organization that supports research on diseases prevalent in children.
“Audi decided to come out with the idea of saying, ‘Why don’t we auction cars and electric cars for kids, and the money raised will go to research for the foundation,’ ” said Josee Saint-Pierre, CEO of Foundation of Stars.
Hospital patients will be able to drive the miniature cars right into the operating room.
“Giving them the opportunity to play, have fun, going to the operation room with those cars diminishes a lot of the stress,” she said.
The kids already love the new ride.
“The other patients are going to like this,” said Mathys Imbeault, a seven-year-old who was at the hospital for an allergy test and testing out the new ride.
His father applauded the initiative.
“He’s maybe less nervous,” Yvon Imbeault said of his son. “He’s more concentrated on driving the car than what’s coming.”
The hope is that other patients will feel the same way and more dealerships get involved.
“I think the memory of the hospital will be fantastic because probably they’ll remember the mini car experience more than the operation,” Saint-Pierre said.
