Los Alamos Medical Center welcomes kindergarteners to Teddy Bear Clinic

More than 180 Los Alamos Public Schools kindergarteners spent part of Thursday turning Los Alamos Medical Center into a place of curiosity instead of worry. The annual Teddy Bear Clinic gave the county’s youngest students a first look at the hospital’s emergency rooms, staff and equipment before they ever need them in a crisis.

The visit matters in Los Alamos County because Los Alamos Medical Center is the only hospital in town. The 47-bed acute care facility says it has served Northern New Mexico for more than 70 years, which makes that early familiarity more than a cute classroom outing. For children, seeing a stethoscope, meeting people in scrubs and learning what a hospital does can soften the shock of a future ER visit or overnight stay.

The Teddy Bear Clinic is not new. In 2014, about 200 Los Alamos kindergarten students toured the hospital for the program, and in 2024 Los Alamos Medical Center said more than 220 kindergarteners attended. That history shows the event has become a steady part of the relationship between the hospital and Los Alamos Public Schools, not a one-time photo opportunity. The clinic’s return this year continued that pattern of reaching children early, while they are still forming basic ideas about health care and emergency services.

Hospital materials say the goal is to make communities healthier and provide quality care close to home. That broad mission becomes concrete at events like Teddy Bear Clinic, where schoolchildren learn that the hospital is not only a place for illness, but also for guidance, prevention and reassurance. Previous coverage has noted that the program helps students understand emergency services and build confidence with medical settings, a useful lesson in a small community where families may rely on the same hospital for everything from outpatient care to urgent treatment.

The event has also drawn support beyond hospital staff, including community volunteers, local educators and first responders such as the Los Alamos County Fire Department, Los Alamos County Police and Classic Air Medical. That mix gives the clinic a public-safety dimension that goes beyond a school visit. For parents, the payoff is practical: a child who already recognizes the hospital may be less frightened when a real medical problem sends the family there.