Photos by Michael Garcia.
Halloween is one of the happiest times of the year for kids as they dress up as their favorite superheroes, cartoon characters and monsters and run around the neighborhood door-to-door yelling, “trick or treat!” They get to stay up late, play and eat a lot of candy. Unfortunately, children with long hospital stays aren’t always able to share those same experiences.
Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) firefighters and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital employees brought that Halloween spirit to their patients Tuesday morning by dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating throughout the hospital.
“We put on the trick or treat parade every year because children here in the hospital would otherwise miss out on them,” Rita Goshert, manager of the Child Life Department, told the Post. “We realize it’s so important for them to have those normal events in their lives happen even here in the hospital.”
Employees at the hospital dressed up as pirates, princesses and witches giving out toys and treats as smiling children went along accompanied by parents and firefighters throughout the hospital’s departments.
“It’s such a morale booster for them to be able to set up their booths and have the children come by,” Goshers said. “They feel so good about making this such a special day for them too.”
Firefighters were paired with a patient so they could have a special escort as they went through the trick-or-treat route.
“This is just one of the few things we partner up with at the Child Life Unit here at [Miller] Children’s and we’re just trying to bring some assistance to their families and normalcy to the kids here,” Brian Vanderwal, captain at Station 11 of the LBFD, told the Post. “It’s great if we can play a little part of that and bring smiles to their faces.”
{gallery}asia/michaelmillerchildrens{/gallery}