Spending time in an emergency room can be scary for patients of any age, but for children, it can be especially traumatic.
Pat Long, volunteer coordinator in Volunteer Services, knew how much her own grandkids (shown with a few blankets above) had been comforted by their security blankets in the past and she wanted to bring that same luxury to Cox’s pediatric patients.
“We saw a need when kids come to the ER, so we started asking around,” Long says. A group called Newborns in Need stepped up and donated 25 blankets. On Tuesday, 80 new blankets were delivered by Project Linus-Springfield/SW/Lakes Area, a local chapter of a national organization that provides security blankets, not unlike the one carried by Linus van Pelt in the “Peanuts” comic strip.
The blankets are now available to young patients in both Emergency Departments and those served by Pre-Hospital and Pediatrics.
“It’s a security thing,” Long says, noting that even older children like the handmade blankets. “I think it’s a great customer service to provide that security for them.”
There are currently 105 blankets available and Long is pursuing more. On Saturday, May 15, Volunteer Services is hosting a “Make-a-Blanket Day,” with experts from Project Linus coming to the Ozark Room at Cox Walnut Lawn to teach a class on blanket making. The event will be held from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Participants are asked to bring 1.5 yards of fleece and a sharp pair of scissors to create “no sew” blankets that can be donated to the hospital.
Anyone interested in participating or donating may call Long at 269-3169.
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