The aim is to reduce the anxiety experienced by children and their families during the surgical process by creating a more familiar and welcoming space. To this end, the artists have created a mural in which animals appear to greet and interact with their surroundings, with the intention of giving children a sense of companionship during their recovery.
The decoration has been adapted to the characteristics of the room. The walls have been transformed into a landscape of plants and animals, while the ceiling features birds in flight and a dragon that adds a touch of fantasy and captures the children’s visual interest. One of the columns has even been transformed into a tree with an owl.
The ceiling features birds in flight and a dragon. Photo: Government of Aragon
The new mural was recently visited by several representatives of Cruz Roja Juventud, including Zaragoza provincial coordinator Paola Latorre Mallén; Alberto Ferrer Berdor, a technician for the Promotion of Success with Children and Young People in Situations of Social Difficulty and the Promotion of Success with Young People in Non-Compulsory Education; and Yoana Muñoz García, a technician on the Care for Hospitalized Children project. Alicia Giménez Ruiz, director of Provincial Volunteering and Territorial Development and director of Provincial Communications for Cruz Roja Zaragoza, also attended.
Nine volunteer artists contributed to the initiative and created the mural: Marina Rodríguez Bailo (Marinarble), Alejandro Jesús Cosma (Cosma), Nadia Vicen Rodríguez, Alma Vicén Rodríguez, María Hernando Fontané (Taro), Raquel Viver Rodrigo, Isabel Yanes García-Rosales (cigarra), Gerardo Palacín Nogués (coyote) and Andrea Alfaro Gracia (aneartt).
Representatives of Zaragoza’s Hospital Clínico who also took part in the visit included nurses Sonia López Madurga, Carmina Lavilla and Noelia Ibáñez; nursing care assistant Nieves Gascón; and hospital orderly Ignacio López Fernández.
The decoration has been adapted to the characteristics of the room. Photo: Government of Aragon
A MORE WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT TO REDUCE CHILDREN’S ANXIETY
Yoana Muñoz García, a Cruz Roja Juventud technician on the Care for Hospitalized Children project, thanked all the artists and healthcare staff whose involvement made the initiative possible. She also explained that a hospital admission disrupts children’s daily lives, so adapting the space where they wake up after surgery helps provide a calmer, more welcoming and stimulating environment.
Muñoz noted that going to hospital can be a difficult experience for both children and young people, particularly because of the loneliness they may experience during their stay. In this regard, Cruz Roja Juventud organizes and coordinates volunteers at the Fundación 'la Caixa' Pediatric Area and the Short-Stay Unit at Zaragoza’s Hospital Clínico.
In 2025, a total of 613 children, adolescents and young people received support at this hospital. Of these, 339 were assisted by Cruz Roja Juventud and another 274 by the partner organizations involved in this work.
STORIES, BALLOON MODELING AND FAMILY SUPPORT
The project "Humanizing the pediatric surgical environment: a more welcoming PACU," developed with the participation of a multidisciplinary group of professionals from Zaragoza’s Hospital Clínico, includes other measures in addition to decorating the pediatric bays. Nurse Noelia Ibáñez, one of the professionals involved, explained that parental support was already in place before this initiative, although it is now receiving even more attention.
PACU staff working with pediatric patients have also received specific training and information. In addition, children have tools to help them cope with anxiety, including balloon-modeling activities in which they can create colorful figures shaped like flowers and animals.
Professionals have also created the children’s story "My Adventure in the Hospital," which explains in child-friendly language what happens when they have to undergo surgery. The initiative involves teacher Iñaki Pérez Aznar, who works on this material with children in the Pediatrics classroom. Noelia Ibáñez thanked Cruz Roja for its collaboration, which she considers essential to moving forward with this project aimed at "humanizing pediatric surgical care."
