'Bit Of Normalcy': Hospital Staff Bring The Tricks And Treats To Pediatric Patients
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — For children hospitalized during Halloween, they might have missed out on the trick-or-treating tradition. But Inova Loudoun Hospital staff and community partners made sure that didn’t happen, bringing trick or treat to the children’s hospital rooms on Thursday.
The reverse trick-or-treat event on Halloween involved hospital staff and Loudoun County Fire and Rescue partners handing out candy and other treats to children inside the pediatric unit. The event has been a tradition for numerous years and was fully brought back after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reverse trick-or-treating allows staff to cheer up patients, from babies to school-aged children and patients in isolation.
“It was a way for kids to get involved in the holiday because they’re missing it at home,” Emily Phipps, a child life specialist in the pediatric unit, told Patch. “I know we have a lot of kids this year that are that school-age group, and they were kind of bummed about being here for Halloween, so it was a way to let them have a little bit of normalcy in the hospital.”
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Hospital staff look forward to the event every year and will dress up as characters. This year, pediatric unit staff dressed up as characters from Disney’s “Inside Out.” The pediatric unit’s “chief comfort officer” Jeremiah, a therapy dog, even made an appearance donning his blue wig.
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Phipps said the event is also a “morale booster,” for kids who are usually unhappy with staff because of medical treatments.
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“It’s just keeping a sense of normalcy for them because at home they would be trick or treating, they’re missing out, they’re not with their friends, so it’s a way to let them have a little bit of fun in the hospital,” said Phipps.
Costumed Loudoun County Fire and Rescue staff joined hospital staff from the event. Fire and rescue staff around Northern Virginia often participate in events to cheer up pediatric hospital patients, including dressing as superheroes and rappelling down hospitals outside patients’ windows.
“They also are in the community and see the same kids sometimes bringing the kids into us here,” said Phipps. “It’s a way for them to partner with us and also have a bit of fun in their day as well.”
Another event the hospital is involved with is the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office toy ride and Santa’s ride. During the Santa’s ride, sheriff’s deputies become Santa’s elves and arrive at the hospital on motorcycles to deliver the toys from the drive. The toys are used throughout the year for children who come to the hospital, including as presents after procedures.
The sheriff’s office will collect new, unwrapped toys from Nov. 1 to Dec. 13 at all Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office locations. Last year, the sheriff’s office collected nearly 3,000 toys, which was a new record.
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