A Bear Who's Always There
Making the lives of patients with chronic conditions brighter one Fluffy Friend at a time
Striving to lessen the negative effects of lifelong illness on chronically-ill patients, such as medical PTSD, through physician-patient trust.
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We believe in taking action in order to comfort vulnerable children and to raise awareness amongst physicians about the psychosocial effects of chronic illnesses on young, fragile patients.
We promote our values to ensure all children with chronic illnesses never feel that they are overlooked.
Please join us by supporting our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
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Our mission:
Our initiative:
making a difference
The Fluffy Friends Program strengthens physician-patient trust with a teddy bear personalized to each patient's diagnosis, ensuring no child ever feels alone in their journey with a lifelong illness.
Our purpose
Patients with lifelong diagnoses will always need their physician – someone they can trust to make the right decisions for their health and well-being. Without that, patients suffer. They are also more likely to withhold crucial information a doctor needs in order to properly treat them, and less likely to confide in their doctor when something is bothering them.
A trusting relationship between a patient and his/her physician is one of the key factors of adverse childhood event (ACE) outcomes. A teddy bear is a child's best friend, often the first, who understands life in every way.
The Fluffy Friends program provides physicians with a tool to demonstrate compassionate care while providing patients with a forever friend.
Additionally, empathetic care has been demonstrated to help prevent physician burnout. Here at Fluffy Friends for Children with Chronic Conditions, we work to strengthen physician's healing power so that patients never feel alone.
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"Physicians will give the bear to children and foster physician-patient trust through compassionate, empathetic care"
How Fluffy Friends
can help
The Fluffy Friends program allows a strong and trusting relationship to develop between physicians and patients, which has a significant impact on the quality of care.
Research has found that when there is a strong level of trust between physicians and patients, communication between them improves.
Patients are more likely to share important information with their physician and, in turn, physicians are more likely to listen and respond with empathy and understanding.
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Being valued and appreciated by patients will address the increasingly prevalent issue of physician burnout.
The Fluffy Friends Program facilitates trauma-informed care that builds awareness about medically induced PTSD among physicians. It simultaneously softens the adverse effects of patients' experiences by strengthening the bond they have with their physicians who will care for them long term.
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"Physicians are empowered when they feel they are making a difference in patients' lives."
Conditions Served:
Qualitative Study Results
Coming soon...
Publications
Coming soon...