November 3, 2023
Newborn Alaya made a cute owl on Halloween in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC). Every year, local and provincial volunteers knit and crochet the colorful hats and blankets as costumes for the newborns. Photo supplied.
Newborn Charlie got to dress up as a moose this year for Halloween in the NICU. “All the babies were in their little hats with matching blankets Halloween morning when their families came on the unit,” says Amie Mays, NICU and Pediatrics manager. “It brings a little bit of holiday spirit to the families — and the babies look absolutely adorable, so we all love it as well.” Photo supplied.
Brand-new twins Harrison and Bailey wasted no time showing off their antlers for Halloween in the NICU. Photo supplied.
Story by Tracy Kennedy
RED DEER — A handful of Red Deer-area children didn’t get to go trick-or-treating this year, but the patients and their families still got to experience the joy of Halloween at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC).
Each year, staff in the Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) and Pediatrics units, along with hospital volunteers, recreate the fun spirit of the day with homemade costumes, crafts, decorations — and, of course, treats.
“Our goal is to improve the patient’s mood,” says McKenzie Henderson, a recreation therapist at RDRHC, who organized Halloween plans for children and youth in Pediatrics. “If we can normalize the day and bring some positivity or light to their hospital stay, that’s really important to us.”
Henderson asked staff to bring in Jack-o-Lanterns. Some staff dressed in costume. In the playroom, Henderson put up decorations, played Halloween movies on the TV and laid out crafts so the kids could make masks and colour pumpkins.
Each patient enjoyed a room visit from a costumed member of the healthcare team, who arrived bearing root beer, chocolates and other treats.
“One of the patients, an 11-year-old, was really excited to get some popcorn twists and Smarties, which are some of her favourites” says Henderson.
An important part of her job it is to find out from the children and their parents what they like or dislike, what they prefer to eat, what their favourite movies are and what their hobbies may be, to offer some familiarity and comfort during their hospital stay.
Amie Mays, NICU and Pediatrics manager, says the festivities even extend to the newborns in NICU, where the babies were dressed in knitted and crocheted owl, pumpkin, moose or skeleton outfits, courtesy of a partnership of both local and provincial crochet and knitting volunteers.
“All the babies were in their little hats with matching blankets Halloween morning when their families came on the unit,” says Mays.
“It brings a little bit of holiday spirit to the families — and the babies look absolutely adorable, so we all love it as well.”
Nurses in NICU also provide families with My First Halloween cards, imprinted with the baby’s footprints, to take home.
Halloween is just one of many holidays that are celebrated on the units. “We’re already starting to plan Christmas festivities once Halloween is done,” adds Mays.
“We try to keep the spirits light. We recognize being in the hospital is a difficult time for families around the holidays.”
