12/14/06, BooBoo Bears Powerful Medicine

Whether it's a needle stick or a hospital stay, healthcare can be intimidating for children.

Topping the list of all the ways Community Memorial Hospital tries to soothe its youngest patients might well be the Boo-Boo Bear. The handcrafted creatures, produced by Auxiliary members, are powerful medicine in a cuddly package according to Marilyn Poupore.

"They are a comfort," says Marilyn, who oversees staffing of the hospital's front desk by Auxiliary volunteers. "Sometimes all you need is a smile and a Boo-Boo Bear. They give people something to hold on to."

Emergency Room Nurse Diana DuBois agrees. "For every kid who comes through the ER, the Boo-Boo Bears make them feel more comfortable, especially if we have to do something bad."

Boo-Boo Bears' native habitat also includes the laboratory, where a huggable friend can be a friend indeed.

"Children can be scared to get their blood work done," says phlebotomist Diane Excell. "The Boo-Boo Bears are like a friend to us. We give them out and you see that sparkle in a child's eyes. It helps take some of the fear out of the visit."

Alice Davis, an Auxiliary member, often works on the bears while staffing the hospital's front desk. Using a hard plastic pattern created by her husband Gerry, Alice cuts fabric, stitches pieces together, gives the bears shape with stuffing and then completes the process with hand sewing. The last step is to give the bears faces and, of course, every one is smiling.

"The nurses say the kids look forward to getting them. Anything to make these little kids feel better," says Alice, who was the first to make double sided Boo-Boo Bears.

"I thought it would be a cute idea to put two different pieces of fabric on them and have faces on both sides."

Striped, polka dotted, gingham or plaid, as many as 500 Boo-Boo Bears are doing their job at Community Memorial Hospital each year.

"The creation and distribution of our bears is a great example of the warmth and hospitality that comes from a caring group of community volunteers, overseen by the hospital's Auxiliary," says Susie Gustafson, president of the organization. "When hospital staff and volunteers see the opportunity to comfort our smallest of patients they have something reassuring for them to hold. Boo-Boo Bears are one more example of our small-town-with-a-big-heart-hospital being a thoughtful neighbor."