Yuma hospital hosts teddy bear checkup to ease kids' fears
Kids practiced shots, blood pressure checks and bandaging teddy bears at Exceptional Community Hospital, part of a push to make real ER visits less scary.
Children brought teddy bears to Exceptional Community Hospital in Yuma on Saturday and walked them through mock checkups, with the free Teddy Bear Clinic turning a hospital setting into a practice run for the real thing. The event ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2648 S Araby Rd and was aimed at helping local children feel less afraid of doctors, nurses and medical equipment before an emergency visit.
At the clinic, kids gave their stuffed animals shots, took blood pressure and wrapped them in bandages. They also got a look inside an ambulance and a life flight helicopter, an approach that made the hospital environment feel less intimidating by showing what emergency care actually looks like. Lisa Brazeel, who works with the hospital, said the event was a huge success and said Exceptional Community Hospital wanted to reach out to the community in a way that helps younger children calm their nerves before they need care for real.
The clinic fit a pattern of child-focused outreach from the Yuma hospital. KYMA reported that Exceptional Community Hospital hosted a similar free Teddy Bear Clinic on June 21, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Yuma facility, with the same goal of helping children get over their fear of the doctor’s office. The hospital has also held other community events in Yuma, including a Trunk-or-Treat and a drawing contest for elementary school students.
Exceptional Community Hospital officially opened in Yuma on August 15, 2022, giving residents another 24-hour care option in the city. The hospital says it is accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality and offers 24-hour care, on-site labs, diagnostic imaging, radiology, a pharmacy and short wait times. Those services matter in a county where families may be deciding whether a child needs urgent care, an ER visit or an air transfer.
The setting also reflected Yuma County’s larger health picture. The county’s population was 203,881 in the 2020 Census and was estimated at 224,449 on July 1, 2025. The U.S. Census Bureau says 66.1% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 17.0% of residents under age 65 were uninsured in the 2020 to 2024 estimate period. In that context, low-pressure events aimed at children can shape whether a hospital feels familiar before a crisis hits.
Air medical access has become part of that local reality too. TriState CareFlight returned to Yuma on July 1, 2022, with a helicopter base serving Yuma County and beyond, making the helicopter display at the Teddy Bear Clinic more than a novelty. It gave children a first look at a resource that can become part of emergency care across the region.
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