TEDDY BEARS WELCOME ER KIDS FIRM'S DONATION MARKS OPENING OF UPGRADED FACILITY AT NEWHALL MEMORIAL.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A local business donated 100 teddy bears Wednesday to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital to bring a little cheer to kids who might visit the new upgraded emergency room this holiday weekend.

The teddy bear giveaway also coincides with the county's recent renewal of the emergency room's certification for pediatric care, coming just weeks after Newhall Memorial unveiled its new expanded ER.

``It's a drag to come to the emergency room during the holidays and we want to make it more bearable,'' cracked Andie Bogdan, speaking for the hospital.

The Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., which handles the design, manufacturing, distribution and sales for licensed brands such as ``SpongeBob'' and ``Spider-Man,'' donated the stuffed bears for kids visiting the emergency room and American flags for adults.

Owner David Socha, who enjoys the small-town feel of Valencia, likes to support the community, so he decided to donate the 6-inch-tall teddy bears.

``They are jointed so the kids can play with the arms and legs because kids can be fidgety while in the hospital,'' Socha said.

While the hospital was one of the first in the county to be certified for pediatric emergency room care almost 20 years ago, this time around the administration took steps to improve services for children.

All of the old pediatric equipment in the emergency room was replaced with new state-of-the-art supplies and every nurse took a course and received certification in pediatric nursing. In the past, most nurses had never been certified in pediatric care or they had let the certificates expire.

``We have had a bad reputation in the community that we didn't take very good care of kids, but this is one of the best staffs I've ever worked for,'' said Mark Wallerstein, director of emergency services. Three of the nurses are ex-pediatric emergency department nurses. ``They're true experts in taking care of really sick kids and they bring a lot of wealth of knowledge to the regular staff.''

About 20 percent of all emergency room visits at Newhall Memorial are children under the age of 13, and they tend to occur when pediatricians' offices are closed in the evenings and on weekends. Last year, 6,600 children under the age of 13 visited Newhall Memorial's emergency room.

The Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics program is designed to improve the process of monitoring the quality of care given to children and to ensure that emergency rooms in Los Angeles County have the proper equipment and training for nurses.

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Photo:

Oliva Fry, 6, of Santa Clarita gets covered with bears by David Socha and Valerie Carmean, an emergency room nurse.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer