EMTs Equipped With Teddy Bears For Emergency Calls

DENVER (CBS4) - A child can be traumatized during an emergency, and EMT's have found that a simple stuffed animal goes a long way to comforting kids. The Teddy Bear Patrol provides those new stuffed animals. CBS4 is partnering with KOSI 101 and the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children to collect new Teddy bears for the effort.

LINK: Donate to the Teddy Bear Patrol

T.J. Woelfel and Dani Bettenberg have been Emergency Medical Technicians for six years.

"I love my job," Woelfel said. "When I became a lifeguard in high school, we had a five-year-old drowning, but we were able to resuscitate that child. I was hooked."

"I love my job too," Bettenberg said. "We build close bonds, not only with the people we work with, but with the fire department, police, everyone."

These EMTs take their job very seriously, and they know that when they roll up on a scene, it has an impact, particularly on children.

"When we arrive at their house, it's very scary. They know what's happening is not good," Woelfel said.

That's why stuffed animals are standard equipment on their ambulance.

"If we have to do some kind of treatment to them, we give them a teddy bear. It relaxes them," Bettenberg said.

"We give them that as a way for them to be comforted. It's something they can hold on to, that may make them feel safer," Woelfel said.

Woelfel and Bettenberg said that putting a smile on a patient's face is one of their top priorities, despite the emergency circumstances. The Teddy Bear Patrol is a primary way they do that.

You can help by dropping a new stuffed animal in the donation bins at these Denver metro area locations:

HealthONE (Denver Tech Center)
CBS 4 Studios (Denver)
Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center (near Uptown in Denver)
Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children (near Uptown in Denver)
Swedish Medical Center (Englewood)
Swedish Southwest ER (Littleton)
The Medical Center of Aurora (Aurora)
Centennial Medical Plaza (Centennial)
North Suburban Medical Center (Thornton)
Northwest ER (Westminster)
Northeast ER (Thornton)
Rose Medical Center (Denver)
Rose Stapleton ER (Stapleton)
Saddle Rock ER (Aurora)
Swedish Belmar ER (Lakewood)
Sky Ridge Medical Center (Lone Tree)
CareNow Urgent Care – Greenwood Village
CareNow Urgent Care – Aurora
CareNow Urgent Care – Highlands Ranch
CareNow Urgent Care – Parker
CareNow Urgent Care – Quincy and Wadsworth (Littleton)
CareNow Urgent Care – Stapleton
CareNow Urgent Care – DU Neighborhood