Clinton Hill Kids Go On a Special Trip to Mt. Sinai

Youngsters from in Clinton Hill went on a special field trip Monday, courtesy of Operation BLUE at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

The third and fourth graders started their morning by changing into scrubs in order to embrace their new doctor personas. They were then treated to a series of hands-on presentations with professionals from all over the medical field.

An audiologist showed the students what the inside of an ear looked like and how to use a hearing aid. "I learned to stay away from loud sounds," said fourth grader Vance White.

A nutritionist educated them on proper foods by giving the students a handpicked healthy lunch of whole grains and vegetables.

After lunch was a physical therapy workshop. "Physical therapists help people who got hurt get better," said student Danee Forgenie. There, the students were free to ride around the room in wheelchairs and bounce on therapy balls normally used to help people regain balance.

One of the last events of the day was a hands-on presentation of gadgets used for such things as finding and removing tumors and reducing blood loss from kidneys.

Operation BLUE was started in 2007 by Dr. Courtney Phillips, who was sitting in a coffee shop when she overheard a member of the CPCS administration talking to a co-worker about the lack of science-related field trips.

This inspired Phillips to invite CPCS students to Columbia, where she worked at the time.

The program has since grown into an annual field trip to Phillips' current place of work at Mt. Sinai, where students meet and interact with different medical professionals every year.

"There are so many options in the medical field," Phillips said. "Some of the boys like sports, so there's physical therapy. If some of the girls like art, there's art therapy. If they're interested in food, there's nutrition."

Maggie Cho, a teacher at CPCS, thinks the exposure children get from Operation BLUE is extremely beneficial. "They experience what it could actually be like to be a doctor," she said.

CPCS partners with multiple firms, companies, and organizations based on student interest. In the past, music students have gone to record labels (even meeting rap impresario P. Diddy on one trip); students interested in law are given the opportunity to visit law offices, as well as many other programs in order to help gear CPCS kids towards a better future.