LebTown
January 6, 2021 2 min read
In the midst of COVID-19, an increasing number of children with mental health crises are coming through emergency rooms.
At WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, about 100 kids a year fall into that category.
“This number has grown with the COVID-19 outbreak, and the ER is more stressful now than ever for these children,” Deirdre Carmichael, director of workplace campaigns for United Way of Lebanon County, said in a press release.
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Once United Way learned from the hospital’s Lebanon County Crisis Intervention team about the situation, both parties got to work.
The result of their collaboration is Kits of Comfort & Joy. Designed to provide a stress-relieving and positive outlet for children, the kits include a blanket or stuffed animal, an age-appropriate puzzle, a fidget toy, a book and an age-appropriate activity.