It's no fun for a child to be in the hospital, but thanks to Northwest EMS, pediatric hospital stays are a little happier. Northwest EMS collects toys for Child Life, an initiative that provides new toys to children who are hospitalized.

Northwest EMS started the partnership with Child Life in 2021. "Our office manager, Luci, had a granddaughter in the hospital in November and December of 2020, and visits were limited," explained Lori Shenk, community outreach manager for Northwest EMS. "Her granddaughter, Taylor, had a lot of anxiety about being there, but every day that Taylor was in the hospital, members of the Child Life team would visit her. They played cards with her, did puzzles, played board games, and they developed a friendship with her." Taylor got to keep every toy and game she received during her stay.

"The Child Life team members would come in and distract her during procedures, and their presence made the biggest difference for her," Shenk said. The then-10-year-old mentioned Child Life to her grandmother and suggested it might be a project Northwest EMS would like to take on.

All four Northwest EMS stations - in Maytown, Brickerville, Elizabethtown and Manheim - participate in the program. Toys are collected year-round at the stations, and Shenk delivers the collection to Penn State Health Children's Hospital and Lancaster General Hospital throughout the year.

"Doing something like Child Life is important to us, because we want to support our community," Shenk shared. She noted that the stations are always accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys for children age 17 and under. "It's easy to pick up a toy to donate, and people should not just think about what their child would like, but think about something any child would like," she recommended. "The dollar store and other discount stores are excellent places to get activity books or craft supplies." Other suggested donations include board books, Legos, dolls, DVDs, video games and Play-Doh.

"When someone drops off a donation, they should be sure to tell the person who receives it at the station that it's for Child Life," Shenk stated.

Northwest EMS stations are located in Maytown, 186 Rock Point Road; Brickerville, 10 Hopeland Road, Lititz; Elizabethtown, 380 W. Bainbridge St.; and Manheim, 60 W. Colebrook St.

For more information on the Child Life program or on making a donation, contact Shenk at 717-371-8282 or lshenk@nwems86.org.