As part of a year-long expansion of pediatric rehabilitation services offered at Murray-Calloway County Hospital, two rehab rooms recently received kid-friendly facelifts.

The improvements mainly are seen in two large wall murals, one in the speech-language pathology room and one in the occupational and physical therapy room. But while the murals may appear to simply add a little color and vibrancy to the rooms, they do much more than that.

“We use the art as an interactive tool in our sessions, having the children name the colors and talk about the animals,” said Megan Smetana, discussing the murals of animals and a large tree in the speech-language pathology room. “We have a quote on the wall that says, ‘why fit in when you were born to stand out,’ and we use that as well.”

In the occupational/physical therapy room, the mural depicts a climber nearing the peak of a mountain, symbolizing overcoming physical obstacles to reach a goal. An inspirational quote above reads: “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so ... get on your way!”

Special consideration was given to make sure the rooms weren’t overstimulating for the hospital’s young patients, as distractions can take away from activities.

For more information on pediatric rehabilitation at Murray-Calloway, call 270-762-1854.