Blog
UCSD Brings Santa to Help Spread Christmas Cheer to the Hospital
The following post highlight comes from Kenny Goldberg at KPBS.org. To read the whole story, click here.
Like other parents with babies in the NICU, Ana Perez couldn’t take her daughter to visit Santa.
So UCSD brought Santa to the unit. Nurse Manager Jan Herbert said he took a picture with every family.
“It brings a smile to everybody’s face,” Hebert said. “They’re so excited to have that little bit of normalcy in their life, and very often it’s like their first family photo with Santa, or their first kind of Christmas celebration for that family, so it’s fun.”
Hebert explained staff do what they can to help families get through the holiday season.
Of course, this time of year can be stressful for hospital staff, too. That’s why at UCSD, they take turns working on Christmas Day. And to make things a little more festive, the hospital brings in a feast for people who have to work during the holidays.
And then there’s UCSD Chaplin Mark Reeves. His primary job is to attend to the spiritual and emotional needs of both patients and staff. Reeves also offers support to the patients’ family members who live out of town.
Read the full story here. Or click the play button below to hear how Ana Perez got an early Christmas present this year: her daughter Carina.
Aired 12/22/14 on KPBS News.
