‘Let’s Pretend Hospital’ at Wallace State eases fears about visits

CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. ( WBRC ) - Wallace State Community College’s Department of Nursing is helping first-graders ease any fear they might have when they need to go to the doctor or emergency room.

When they arrived at what’s known as the The Let’s Pretend Hospital children are greeted by superheroes and princesses and begin a tour of eight interactive classrooms to learn about safety, germs, operations, ER visits, X-rays and more.

The Mario Room, where students help save Princess Peach from Bowser, is a crowd favorite, said Pamela Tidmore, a fourth-semester nursing student, Let’s Pretend Hospital ambassador and president of the Spring 2026 cohort.

“We’ve got an obstacle course set up; the kids are loving that,” she said. “We’ve got an Operation room, we’re actually performing ‘pretend