Students at Strode Station Elementary were able to get the bumps, bruises and scrapes their stuffed animals had suffered some quality medical care Friday when George Rogers Clark high school students studying health science at the Area Technology Center visited to host a teddy bear clinic.

According to Heather Abner, a health sciences instructor at the ATC, the 14 GRC students will make their way to all of the elementary schools conducting clinics for kindergarten through second grade.

“They go around to several different stations to learn about the health field,” Abner said. “There’s an emergency room station, an X-ray station, a pharmacy station and others.”

Along the way, elementary students get to watch as GRC students at the various stations provide different treatments to their stuffed animals, whether it be doing bloodwork, bandaging a leg or prescribing some much needed candy to help cure their ailments.

After the clinic, third and fourth grade students at the schools get to take part in a health fair.

“They learn about basic first aid, calling 911 and how to put together a first aid kit,” Abner said.

The work is beneficial to the high school students as well. Abner said the class — made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors — earns community service hours for the work to educate the children. They also get exposure to the community and knowledge on how to talk to young people about health topics.

The ATC has been conducting health fairs and teddy bear clinics for about six years, Abner said.