Teddy Bear's Place on Ambulance

[disassociative]

Ok, I have a terrible tendency to bring a teddy bear, sponge bob, or some other stuffed animal along on any rig I am on. It helps so much when you need to assess a child, if you hand them a toy to play with in the process. I was wondering, is anyone else here certified in Teddy Bear therapy?

 

[rgnoon]

One of the people I ride with occasionally is a certified expert at tying slings for stuffed rabbits and or bears. They can work wonders!

 

[Ridryder911]

I was wondering, is anyone else here certified in Teddy Bear therapy?

Are we really serious? Yeah, I give them the toy. Usually, most are to pre-occupied. * Note: be sure all toys are child safe, no buttons, ribbons, etc. where one could cause aspiration or choking.. as well as lead free

R/r 911

 

[disassociative]

Various research conducted in regards to teddy bear therapy has confirmed: choking on a button is not good!(Limmer, Mistovich, Krost 2007). lol.

 

[rgnoon]

I am serious...had an 8 year old girl the other day stop crying from a suspected fracture just long enough to figure out a name for her new pink bunny. Kids are tough enough as it is, any additional compassion that we can express toward them, and that they can pick up on, can have a positive effect.

good point on the lead-free...crazy chinese toys! :-D

 

[Summit]

we actually kept a small supply of little stuffed animals... we disposed of them after each use so that no diseases were spread

 

[Alexakat]

We keep "comfort toys" on our ambulances. It's part of our check-off, believe it or not! The kids keep them & we just re-stock them like we would any other piece of equipment!

 

[TheDoll]

we actually kept a small supply of little stuffed animals... we disposed of them after each use so that no diseases were spread

wait a sec, the kid can't keep the stuffed animal? cruel, cruel world

 

[disassociative]

Sometimes, when we get children that are a bit older--I will give them a nice Fire-Safety coloring book that covers points like stop, drop, and roll and how you shouldn't be afraid when a fireman, emt, or police officer tries to help you.

I think that little things such as these can mean a lot to a child.

 

[rgnoon]

I wholeheartedly agree disassociative. On a personal note when I was in the hospital as a child, some volunteers working at the hospital hand made stuffed animals for the pediatric patients. Being a pt in a hospital can be scary enough as an adult, The simple stuffed animal become a great source of comfort for me. We carry stuffed animals now on our rigs and I see them help our younger patients all the time. Its good to know that more people are doing this as well!

 

[reaper]

All our rigs are stocked with bears. We buy the ones that have tshirts with our county patch on them.

We all carry the blow-by bears. They are great for small children that need some o2 on them.

 

[Rattletrap]

I have used them with elderly patients in nursing homes with some success.

 

[JJR512]

All our rigs are stocked with bears. We buy the ones that have tshirts with our county patch on them.

Who is the vendor of these bears?

 

[reaper]

Don't remember. But, i can find out.

 

[Emtgirl21]

someone in our community donates us bears and also some of them a really cute hand made ones. Its part of our daily check off to make sure we have aleast 2 bears.

 

[crash_cart]

wait a sec, the kid can't keep the stuffed animal? cruel, cruel world

Not keeping pre-hospital transport bears leads to poor self-esteem.(Limmer, Mistovich, Krost 2007).

 

[medicdan]

We all carry the blow-by bears. They are great for small children that need some o2 on them.

Along with two teddy bears, we also carry one of these.
http://www.buyemp.com/tmp_image.php?item_id=1021401
(I think this is what you are referring to...)
I cant imagine giving one of those to a kid-- they scare the heck out of me. Its essentially a rubber bear with holes in its chest and an O2 tube coming out of its back-- it can be used for blow-by or nebs treatments. The worst part is that it smells like bubble gum!

 

[Summit]

wait a sec, the kid can't keep the stuffed animal? cruel, cruel world

we were happy to let them keep them... truth be told most of the time the kids lost interest quickly

 

[TheDoll]

we were happy to let them keep them... truth be told most of the time the kids lost interest quickly

actually, i figured that you were letting the kids keep the bears if they wanted. i was just making a little joke bc it kind of sounded like you would give a bear to a kid, then take it away and destroy it. i didn't think for a minute, that's actually what you were doing.

Not keeping pre-hospital transport bears leads to poor self-esteem.(Limmer, Mistovich, Krost 2007).

i don't understand what you are trying to say at all. could you clarify please? thanks!

 

[Ridryder911]

We all carry the blow-by bears. They are great for small children that need some o2 on them.

In lieu of carrying such, I use a Styrofoam cup, with the oxygen tubing stuck through it. Most kids are used to "tippy cup" and hold the cup quite well, the same when giving neb.'s tx.

R/r 911