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ASHEBORO – Going to the hospital is rarely a pleasant experience. But students from Seagrove Elementary were looking forward to it Monday.

Randolph Hospital kicked off its annual Teddy Bear Fair Monday. This week, hundreds of second graders from across the county will get a feel for what it's like to be a patient in a hospital through the eyes of teddy bears.

"They're going to be able to see a bear get a breathing treatment from respiratory therapy," Deana Thomas, education director, said. "They're going to actually have their oxygen saturation checked themselves as they stand in line, they'll watch a bear have his blood drawn, X rays."

The hospital treats about 40,000 patients a month, many of them children, for everything from asthma to broken bones. Workers say the teddy bears help break the ice.

"They're trusted. They talk to them. They play with them, and if teddy can do it, they can do it," Thomas said. "The goals are to decrease their fear when they have something done so that we hope that the experience is a lot better for them."

And many students say they think it worked.

"I thought it was great," second grader Ariel Coltrane said. "We learned about nutrition and see how to take care of ourselves and stay healthy."

About 1,500 students from 21 elementary schools across the county are expected to participate in this year's program.