Concord Hospital Associates has donated 100 weighted blankets to the hospital, to comfort patients and help them heal, in the hospital and at home.
The weighted blankets are cotton blankets with sewn-in channels or slots that hold weighted tubes often filled with rice or buckwheat. The weight doesn’t just keep patients warm. It can keep them calm, which is very important for those recovering from illness or injury.
“The sensory impact of having some weight helps patients relax and reduces some agitation so they can get a restful sleep,” said Karla Roth, Concord Hospital’s director of volunteer services. “If the blankets help them get a restful sleep, that is wonderful, and aids the recovery process.”
Weighted blankets have been used for years for patients with certain conditions such as autism or for patients with behavioral health concerns. More recently, their value has been recognized as a therapeutic tool for many more patients, including those suffering from delirium – an abnormal confusion that can occur very quickly in hospitalized patients.
Concord Hospital Associates purchased the blankets and donated them to the hospital, where patients who can most benefit from their therapeutic effect receive them free of charge.
“It is a total gift for the patient,” said Roth. “They can take the blankets home. That’s why the associates’ gift is so important.”
