BERLIN, Md. - A new location of Brooke’s Toy Chest is up and running at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin. Officials say this is one of many projects happening because of the merger between the hospital and TidalHealth.
Brooke’s Toy Closet first started at the Salisbury TidalHealth location. The new location at Atlantic General Hospital officially opened on August 25th. Brooke Mulford was a young girl fighting cancer who wanted to help other kids feel comfort during their stay in the hospital. Now, her legacy lives on in multiple locations where children can visit the toy closet to pick out a toy of their choosing, during their hospital stay.
“We probably see on average about 600 adolescents here in the emergency room each month. Some of those are admitted to the hospital for, you know, a longer term evaluation or treatment, but I would say a majority of them are treated here in our emergency room,” said Toni Keiser, Vice President of Public Relations for Atlantic General Hospital. “They're, you know, in a weird environment for a child, so to have a nurse and somebody, that's looking after you and your family, be able to take you over to the closet, let them pick something out, it just takes that fear away for just a moment.”
Keiser said the new toy closet itself was donated by the auxiliary thrift shop and was painted by a volunteer. As for the toys, the TidalHealth Foundation put out a call to the community and it was answered.
Jessica Jersey with the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation reflected on how the children react to the toy closet.
"They love it. They come in, they're like, 'I can take this? I get to keep this?' and it takes their mind off of it, even if just for a second of why they're actually in our hospitals," said Jersey.
To arrange a toy drop-off in Berlin, Salisbury, or Seaford, contact the TidalHealth Foundation at 410-543-7140 or foundation@tidalhealth.org.