A New Dinosaur Sculpture Brings Smiles to Patients at Glendive Medical Center

Glendive, Montana, July 1, 2019 – The front entry of Gabert Clinic has a new, friendly face to greet children and adults as they enter. Earlier this week, artist Odin Zeller delivered a triceratops he created at his home in Ohio to Glendive Medical Center. The engineering crew at GMC helped Odin position the triceratops in between the front entry doors where it can be easily viewed by patients entering and exiting the clinic.

“Odin has been creating dinosaur-themed art since he was about twelve years old”, stated Shana Baisch, owner of Baisch’s Dinosaur Digs, “He has come to our place for the past five years to fossil hunt and mentioned he was looking for a new outlet for his work. He had to do a community service project as part of a requirement for his senior year, so he decided to create a dinosaur for Glendive.”

Shana stated she gave him the idea of one for the hospital after her grandson was admitted a few times in the past year. She felt a friendly dinosaur would be something kids would like to see that could help ease nervousness. Odin created several prototypes including a Brontosaurus with a neck brace and a Tyrannosaurus Rex with an arm sling, but decided to go forward with the Triceratops with an ice pack on its head. “My idea for the sculptures was to make them look comical so children would find them approachable,” stated Odin, “I also made their injuries relatable since kids might have these same injuries coming in to see the doctor. I came up with their injuries based on their unique characteristics.”

Shana and Linda Mischel donated the funds to cover the cost of materials for the Triceratops and then reached out to Glendive Medical Center’s Marketing Director, Jaime Shanks about areas it could be placed. “We are so humbled that we were chosen for the dinosaur”, stated Jaime, “Our staff and patients immediately took notice and the dinosaur has already brought so many smiles to passing faces. We want to sincerely thank Odin, Shana, and Linda for their graciousness and thoughtful donation and we feel this is a perfect fit as we build our pediatric services at Glendive Medical Center.”

Glendive Medical Center will be asking the public for help in naming the new dinosaur. The dinosaur’s photo will be featured on GMC’s Facebook page on July 5^th. You can add your name idea below the photo or peruse the name ideas and vote for your favorite. The name with the most likes will become the official name.

If anyone is interested in a dinosaur sculpture, Odin is open to considerations. His future plans include pursuing a career in paleo artistry and he feels Glendive would be the perfect place to start. Contact Baisch’s Dinosaur Digs for Odin’s contact information at (406) 365-4133.