‘Teddies for Tinies’ at Good Samaritan helps comfort grieving families
Infant loss is something no one should have to experience. But when a family endures a loss of this kind, the nurses and staff at the MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital Family Birth Center extend a special gesture of comfort.
“We give a teddy bear to our families who go home with empty arms due to a fetal loss,” says LaVena Narvaiz, BSN, RNC-OB, nurse manager of the Family Birth Center. “The bear serves as a memento for parents and can sometimes help older siblings cope with the grief.”
After a loss occurred last week, several staff members — Raeli Korzeniecki, BSN-RN; Lindsey Sanborn, RN; and Stephanie Travis Douglas, health unit coordinator — went to get a teddy bear from the closet where they are stored and found the closet was empty.
Korzeniecki then purchased a bear with her own money from the gift shop.
“Knowing the patient’s story and background, I made sure to pick one that would be a perfect fit,” she says. “Thankfully we don’t get these types of situations often, but when we do, it’s nice to have the ability to offer something tangible to comfort these grieving families.”
Nurse springs into action
To ensure the closet had more bears on hand, Korzeniecki had an idea — she would seek donations from her close friends and family.
“I quickly ran to Vena’s office to get approval of my idea,” she explains. “Once approved, Stephanie helped me set up an Amazon wish list.”
Korzeniecki then posted her request for donations on Facebook. The response was overwhelming. 
“By the time my 12-hour shift was over, more than 250 bears had been ordered,” she says.
When Korzeniecki headed out for work the next morning, hundreds of packages of teddy bears sat on her porch.
“I was in complete shock,” she recalls. “I had chills thinking how such an innocent ask could turn into something so big and impactful.”
An overwhelming response
And they kept piling in. Within a week, nearly 800 bears had been donated.
“My porch kept filling with packages,” Korzeniecki adds. “I sat by the front door opening each one, reading every message included with each bear. I cannot describe how touched my heart is.”
Many of the messages were from moms who had lost a baby, noting the donation was in their memory. 
“We placed the heartfelt messages in a scrapbook that’s displayed in our break room for all staff to read,” Travis Douglas says. “And we will continue to add to it.”
Because the number of bears far exceeded what’s needed for one birth center, Korzeniecki, Sanborn and Travis Douglas sent bins of bears to Good Samaritan’s chaplain services and emergency department, as well as to other MultiCare birth centers, neighborhood emergency rooms and first responders.
“We want to be a blanket of comfort for these families,” Travis Douglas says. “This is a way we can walk alongside them during the grieving process.”
A symbol of love and empathy
People are still reaching out to see how they can help. In response to that, “hug from heaven” bracelets have been added to the Amazon wish list. 
Grieving parents will receive those in addition to the bears when discharged from the hospital.
“As we were filling the closet with the new bears, we came up with a name for the program: ‘Teddies for Tinies,’” Travis Douglas explains. “We are a creative bunch in labor and delivery — Raeli whipped up a logo that evening.”
Each bear comes with a dog tag stamped with the ‘Teddies for Tinies’ logo, which were donated by a small business in Puyallup, Sunshine and Peanuts.
“Baby loss, miscarriage and infertility are all too familiar with the staff in the birth center, which is why this cause and message run so much deeper than just a teddy bear,” Korzeniecki adds. “The teddy bear is a symbol of love, empathy and a reminder to our patients that others care.”
