240 "Patients" Visit North Country Emergency Department in 9 Hours

Chelsea Daggett from Derby Elementary gets her pulse monitored by Samantha Lucas of Newport Ambulance at North Country Hospital’s annual Teddy Bear Clinic.

Newport, VT- Thursday, May 10th and Friday, May 11th were very busy days in North Country Hospital’s Emergency Department. More than 240 patients were seen in approximately nine hours and returned to their parents to take home to recover. No, it wasn’t an outbreak of the flu that brought these patients to the ER; it was the hospital’s Teddy Bear Clinic, which happens every year around this time, and invites kindergarteners from area schools to bring their favorite stuffed animal in for a checkup.

Students from Derby Elementary learn about bones from Gail Strang, RN in North Country Hospital’s Emergency Department.

The Teddy Bear Clinic has been taking place at North Country Hospital for better than 19 years. Shelly Morey, who works in the nursing administration office, has been organizing this wonderful educational opportunity for the past four years. Merrilyn Barry, Director of Volunteers and Ann Edgerly, RN have been active in the program since its inception and have greeted many “patients” and their “Mommies or Daddies” with smiles. Gail Strand, RN, models quality nursing care to the children. Others on staff at the hospital are quick to lend a hand, such as Emergency Department Medical Director, Dr. Paul Newton. It takes many hours to organize and orchestrate this valuable learning lesson. North Country Hospital donates work hours and all materials to make this a memorable experience for area children. Newport Ambulance helps out by donating their hours to contribute to the success of the Teddy Bear Clinic as well.

Merrilyn Barry (right) weighs in the pets of Holland kindergarteners while Ann Edgerley gives shots at the annual Teddy Bear Clinic at North Country Hospital.

This year 260 kindergarteners from 16 Orleans County schools came to the clinic. The program was designed to introduce children to the hospital setting at a young age in an attempt to overcome fears and make hospitals less scary to them. It begins in the hospital’s ambulance bay where volunteers from the Newport Ambulance Service have an ambulance set up. They give a safety talk, speak about what they do, show some of their equipment, and let the kids get inside of the ambulance. Students are allowed on the stretchers and shown how patients are strapped in and loaded. They even turn on the flashing lights and sirens for the kids to hear.

Once students and stuffed animals have seen the ambulance, they are welcomed into a room in the ER where the “patient” is weighed, examined, and is given a measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot. After a band aid is placed on the shot site, the “patient” is given back to its owner, along with a certificate with recorded information and a reward sticker.

The next place to visit is an exam room where students learn about the various pieces of medical equipment they may encounter, such as a stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer, IV line, and heart/blood pressure monitor. Students see a skeleton, learn about the main bones in the arms and legs, see an x-ray of a broken leg, and are allowed plenty of time to ask questions. They receive face masks, surgical caps, rubber gloves, and ER coloring books.

After hearing the safety talk about the importance of wearing seat belts and bicycle helmets, and satisfied that their “patients” have been well-cared for, students leave the ER room with a better understanding of what they may encounter should an ER visit be necessary.

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