It’s no surprise that the last 18 months dealing with Covid-19 have been trying for all of health care, especially critical care. While Critical Care is known for providing high-intensity, complex services, it is not always conducive to meeting the emotional needs of patients and their families, especially the young children of our patients. Family visitation in critical care is known to improve patient outcomes and reduce stress on the family. Because of the deadly nature of this disease, hospitals all over the country were forced to restrict visitation to either a FaceTime visit or families were able to visit at the end-of-life. Our patients and families suffered by not having their loved ones close. And our healthcare team struggled on how best to keep families feeling close to their loved ones with such restrictive visitation during these tumultuous times. I would like to recognize Glynda Meadows for taking this unique opportunity to meet the emotional needs of our patients and families one teddy bear at a time.

This story began when a patient suffered at another facility. The facility brought two identical teddy bears into the unit. One stayed with the patient, while the “twin bear” went home with the family. While it seemed to be a small gesture, it held so much meaning to the family. It was a tangible item that could be held whenever the family was thinking of the patient. Glynda brought this idea to our critical care unit. The first few bears were bought by Glynda at a local store and handed out to young children. The children loved it so much that more bears were needed. A large box of 75 bears was donated and the idea grew to attach a poem with each bear depending on if it was for a mom or a dad. "Hi, my name is Teddy I’m cute as can be. I have a twin who looks exactly like me. I'll be at the hospital and watch over your mom/dad, My twin will go home to help when you be strong. If ever you are sad and feeling blue, my twin will be there to comfort you. Although we are sad when we are apart we are always connected because of our hearts."

Our teddy bear program has helped us meet some of the unique needs of our young family members during these times. One specific patient was a young parent and had 2 young children who received the bears while one stayed with a family member, tragically the patient did not survive. After the passing, the parent reached out to us to request the bear that had been with the patient for the last two months of their life.

Note: This is Glynda's 4th DAISY Award!