Children will barely be able to bear the sights before them at the Teddy Bear Clinic put on by Gritman Medical Center this upcoming Saturday.
Weather and lack of emergencies permitting, the hospital plans to repeat an over-the-top entrance by the hospital’s mascot, Charlie Bear, said Shyanne Schoenlein, a marketing specialist with Gritman Medical Center. Last year, Charlie Bear flew to the hospital aboard a helicopter and greeted children from atop the building, Schoenlein said.
“We use it as a way to get kids comfortable with emergency services and the hospital,” Schoenlein said. “So if they were ever to have to come to the hospital or see a firetruck or see an ambulance, the idea is that it would make them more comfortable with the people manning that ambulance or that firetruck and the nurses and the doctors they would be working with while they were here.”
Schoenlein said Gritman has hosted the Teddy Bear Clinic every year since the early 2000s to help children learn to trust hospital staff and emergency personnel. The event has grown and changed over the years, but the idea has stayed the same, she said. Departments from the hospital, neighboring medical providers and emergency services volunteer to host stations during the event where they introduce children to the services they provide.
The Teddy Bear Clinic will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27 at Gritman Medical Center on Main Street.
The family birth center treats the children’s bears as newborn babies, weighing them and giving them a wristband like those provided to babies and their mothers, Schoenlein said. The surgical center stitches up the bears if there are any tears in the fabric, she said.
Outside, emergency service providers stand near an ambulance, fire truck and police car stand ready to greet the children with stickers. In addition, a bounce house, fun zone and musical performer will provide entertainment outside the hospital.
Director of marketing at Gritman Medical Center, Peter Mundt, saidthe Teddy Bear Clinic is one of Gritman’s best outreach events. He said it allows children to explore the hospital with parents, guardians and their friends, so they can learn about healthcare in an environment where they feel comfortable.
“It’s just a real celebration of health in the community,” Mundt said. “The big thing we want to accomplish with the kids is that they know and learn that the hospital is a safe place to be … We don’t want them to ever be scared that they have to come to the hospital.”
Mundt said Gritman is a nonprofit regional community hospital and has been the center of healthcare in the community for almost 125 years. He said the Teddy Bear Clinic helps the hospital bring the community’s youngest members into the hospital to help them understand healthcare.
Mundt and Schoenlein said parents should bring their child’s favorite teddy bear, stuffed animal, doll or other toy but do not need to do anything else to prepare. Snacks will be provided. Mundt and Schoenlein both encouraged parents to stop at the registration tent at the main entrance of the hospital first to sign up for the event and receive their map and goody bag.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]