Cat in the Hat visits kids at Mercy Children's Hospital

Just days before Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the Cat in the Hat is celebrating early with kids at Mercy Children’s Hospital bringing smiles to faces of those in the hospital.

Cat in the Hat visited with kids in the Tests and Treatments outpatient area and then joined volunteers and dramatic readers as they entertained kids with The Cat in the Hat book. He then went room to room to visit kids who are on isolation and unable to leave their rooms.

Mercy Children’s Hospital in partnership with the Nine Network of Public Media and the Magic House is hosting a special Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash at the Magic House on March 2 and 3. Kids who are in the hospital won’t be able to attend or participate in the fun, so Cat in the Hat came to them a few days early.

For the weekend’s events at the Magic House, visitors can enjoy special story times featuring their favorite Dr. Seuss books, make their very own Dr. Seuss hat and other crafts, enjoy screenings of the PBS show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™, take their picture with silly Dr. Seuss props and even meet the Cat in the Hat! Children 11 and under who bring in a new Dr. Seuss book ($5 minimum value) to be donated to a child in need will receive free museum admission during the Dr. Seuss weekend event.

With a legacy of faith-based care more than 150 years strong, Mercy Children’s includes pediatric hospitals in St. Louis and Springfield, Mo. Kids are cared for by more than 700 primary care providers, including pediatricians and family doctors, and more than 125 pediatric specialists.  Mercy Children’s supports healthy childhoods through educational outreach programs across four states.

  Mercy is the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and serves more than 3 million people annually. Mercy includes 32 hospitals, 300 outpatient facilities, 38,000 co-workers and 1,900 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.  In Mercy’s east Missouri region, Mercy’s services include a 979-bed hospital in St. Louis, 187-bed hospital in Washington, 251-bed hospital in Festus and Mercy Clinic, a 570-member multispecialty physician organization.  For more about Mercy, visit www.mercy.net.