New room design for young glaucoma patients at the University Eye Clinic Magdeburg
The Director of the University Eye Clinic Magdeburg and founder of the Children's Glaucoma Center, Prof. Dr. med. Hagen Thieme, is setting a special example for his youngest patients. With the support of the “Children for Children” charity project, the walls of the patient rooms have been lovingly decorated to provide a warm and calming atmosphere for children with glaucoma.
At the center of the design is the mascot “Schnobbl”. This cute cuddly toy is an integral part of the care provided to children in the clinic. The concept developed by Raimond Ehrentraut ensures that the children become familiar with “Schnobbl” even before their stay. With the help of CDs or USB sticks, they can learn songs about “Schnobbl” and build up an emotional bond.
At Magdeburg University Eye Hospital, “Schnobbl” accompanies the children throughout their entire journey - from the admission room to the operating theater. “The idea behind it is to give the children a feeling of safety and security,” explains Prof. Thieme, who founded the Children's Glaucoma Center at the University Eye Clinic almost 12 years ago, which finances the cuddly toy and other items. Behind this is the Förderverein der Augenklinik Magdeburg e. V. “When the children are admitted to hospital, they find a ‘Schnobbl’ in their bed. During the preparation for the operation, the parents hold the mascot in their arms while the children are gently accompanied to sleep,” says Thieme.
A particular highlight of the new design are the walls of the rooms. They have been painted in such a way that glowing stars become visible at night. This calming illusion of a starry sky is intended to help young patients feel more at ease and make their stay more pleasant.
Photo: Official inauguration of the new wall painting in the children's patient room, designed by artist Christopher Le Chi. Present at the inauguration were Prof. Hagen Thieme, Director of the University Eye Clinic, the project managers of the “Children for Children” support association, Ms. Harder and Ms. Herdt, as well as the ward nurses of the University Eye Clinic (Gerhart-Hauptmann-Str.).
Photographer: Melitta Schubert/UMMD
Prof. Thieme would like to thank the Magdeburg Children's and Youth Choir.
The new wall design of the patient room was financed by the charity project “Children for Children”. This project consists of annual charity concerts in the Magdeburg Opera House. Participants in this concert series are the Magdeburg Children's and Youth Choir, the Semenchukov Ballet School, the Rossini Quartet and chamber singer Undine Dreißig. The initiators of this project, Kirsten Herdt and Dr. Jaqueline Harder, promised Prof. Thieme their support for the implementation of this special project. Graffiti artist Christopher Le Chi was commissioned to creatively design the rooms. The result: a beautiful children's room with loving Schnobbl motifs and a glowing starry sky that creates a calming atmosphere in the dark.
“The 'Children for Children' charity project organizes the Magdeburg charity concert in the opera house every year and uses the proceeds to support not only other associations, but also special projects such as this heartfelt concern of the University Eye Clinic,” emphasize Ms Herdt and Dr Harder.
“The children support other children who are not doing so well with what they do - that is the overall concept of the 'Children for Children' project. The combination of Schnobbl motifs and the loving room design is an important building block for this goal,” emphasizes Prof. Thieme.
With this project, the University Eye Clinic Magdeburg is setting new standards in child-friendly care and impressively demonstrating how important it is to combine medicine with heart and creativity.