A “Bear-y” Special Day at SLV Health: Hope & Home’s Teddy Bear Clinic
On April 25, Hope & Home hosted its annual Teddy Bear Clinic, a heartwarming event created to help foster children feel more comfortable with medical care. For the first time, Hope & Home partnered with SLV Health to bring the clinic to the Regional Medical Center and welcome the entire community.
A Warm Welcome at SLV Health
Children from across the San Luis Valley were welcomed into the hospital, building trust and familiarity with the medical environment. Their stuffed animals were seen for an “annual checkup,” complete with X-rays, MRIs, surgery, eye exams, and more. With the help of SLV Health staff and a dedicated team of community volunteers, each “patient” received the utmost care.
For many children, medical visits can feel intimidating; the Teddy Bear Clinic turns that fear into curiosity, or even a fun experience. “This ‘bear-y’ cute event is more than meets the eye,” said Amie Hazlett of Hope & Home. “It’s designed to help children create positive associations with the medical community, especially those who are particularly afraid of going to the doctor or dentist.”
Stuffed Animal “Checkups”
From check-in to “discharge,” the clinic offered hands-on learning moments. Children were welcomed into the hospital in a calm, low-stress environment, where their stuffed animals received “tests” and “treatments” such as X-rays, MRIs, and bandaging. SLV Health staff and volunteers answered questions along the way, helping normalize medical visits. At the end of the tour, each child could take a photo with their stuffed animal in a special photo booth to remember the experience.
“It was a joy to see all the children with their stuffies as they experienced parts of the medical field. It was great to interact with the kids and even repair some of the most-loved stuffed animals,” said Carla Christ, MD, a surgeon at SLV Health. Christ volunteered her time to perform a different kind of surgery at the event, sewing hearts onto the stuffed animals children brought in.
Thank you to the partners and sponsors who helped make the clinic possible: Hope & Home, SLV Health, Ent Credit Union, and Edward Jones of Alamosa. We’re grateful to everyone who helped make this “bear-y” special event such a success and we look forward to welcoming our young patients (and their beloved stuffed animals) again next year.
