Treat your teddy bear

Pack a picnic lunch and bring your kids and their teddy bears to the Royal Victoria Hospital's first Teddy Bear Hospital June 24th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on their field at Georgian College. "The event is a great way to familiarize kids with some of the treatments that may happen if they require a visit to the hospital and an opportunity to promote safety," remarked Dr. Gail Churchill, RVH Emergency Doctor and Chair of the Teddy Bears Hospital Committee. "We will triage

and treat their teddy bear by ordering things like x-rays, sutures or casts. It will be educational, but primarily a lot of fun for the kids."

Also featured will be free face painting, stuffed toy giveaways, a storytime with local children's author Mary Jane Martin, puppet show by Epilepsy Simcoe County, and draws for great prizes. Representatives from Poison Control, Barrie Police, OPP, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, RNR Transport Service and EMS will be onsite with displays and activities as well as

representatives from RVH's Emergency Department, Cardio Respiratory, Dietary, Imaging, Pediatrics, Special Care Nursery, Children's Developmenty Services, Laboratory and Pharmacy.

Admission to the event is free and light refreshments are available onsite for a donation.

The event takes place on the green field at Georgian College, closest to RVH and will be set up under large tents. Parking is available onsite at Georgian College or at the RVH Volunteer parking lot.