UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital is not just a normal hospital.
Before they opened to treat the general public, they brought in some very special patients.
They created a teddy bear/stuffed animal hospital to show potential patients and parents what the hospital is all about.
Doctors wanted to families and kids to experience the emergency room without feeling the pressure and having fear.
Kids have brought in their own stuffed animal, broken or healthy, to be checked out by the nurses and doctors in the hospital. There were hundredsof furry friends waiting in line to be seen at no cost and the first 250 kids were given a mini teddy bear as well.
These doctors then perform surgery on these patients if an animal has a lost limb or needs an eye replaced. Some have even gotten X-rays or stitches as well!
All stuffed animals that were brought were truly in need of some tender loving care, and that’s exactly what they got.
It’s made the kids feel good to know that their special friends are being taken care of, so it’s likely that if they ever have to make that dreaded trip to the ER, it won’t be so dreaded after all.
Not only does this special experience help kids to not be afraid of coming to the hospital, but the doctors and nurses use this opportunity to teach children and their parents how to care for themselves, stay healthy, and prevent injury from happening.
One doctor even said, “Many times what will happen is they will bring that animal back with them when they come to the ER as their way of kind of relating to their previous experience. It gives them a little bit of a calming effect.”
After their stuffed animals were checked out families were encouraged to see the helicopter, fire trucks and ambulances too.
A brother and sister were asked what they would do if they ever had to come to the hospital and they answered, “bring a stuffed animal.”
If you are inspired at how this hospital has truly invested in the lives of the community and children in particular, please SHARE this article!
via: denver.cbslocal.com
