DIDSBURY - The Didsbury Elks recently donated a comfort kit for pediatric patients to the Didsbury Hospital. Several Elks members were on hand at the hospital on May 22 for the donation.
Didsbury Elks member Bill Ward, past national leader for the Elks, said the donation sprang from the Tabs for Tots program with the provincial Elks association.
"It supplies money for pediatric equipment throughout small rural properties," said Ward. "This particular one is being developed provincewide and it's to distract children from trauma pain or chronic pain. It can be used in oncology. It's more specifically for trauma pain. If they've come into the Emergency Room with, say, a broken arm, rather than medicate the youngster we can use this to distract them from the pain and it seems like it's very, very effective."
Leone Regner, administrative assistant for rural health for Alberta Health Services, said the commitment to the comfort project started in the spring of 2017.
"With this project we have been able to provide staff with skills and resources to identify and treat pediatric pain in an effective manner," said Regner. "The Didsbury Elks have provided funding to complete our comfort kit for pediatric patients. Our kit includes many different methods of distraction tools and games. Overall, we have seen great success with the implementation of this project in Didsbury. On behalf of Alberta Health Services and Didsbury District Health Services we are very thankful."
