Long Beach hospital holds trick-or-treat event for young patients

Halloween comes but once a year and before you know it, it’s November.

Not wanting their youngest patients to miss out on the fun, a hospital in Long Beach organized a trick-or-treat event inside the facility so kids could still enjoy a day of costumes and candy.

MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach hosted the event Monday in a scarily transformed conference room. Patients got to experience a true Halloween thanks to the hospital’s employees and members of the Long Beach Fire Department.

Kids got to experience jack-o-lanterns, skeletons and other decorations while showing off their own costumes and receiving special gift bags of Halloween treats and toys.

Rachel Foust’s daughter, Natalie, was one of the kids unable to experience Halloween outside of the hospital walls. She said the event meant “everything” to her daughter.

“It’s great that Miller Children’s & Women’s made this possible for kids in the hospital who can’t go out and participate in this fun Halloween tradition,” Foust said.

The event, and previous ones like it, was organized by the hospital’s Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program, which strives to make a hospital stay more enjoyable for patients and their families.

“The Trick-or-Treat event is always amazing for both patients and staff,” said Rita Goshert, director of the program. “A lot of our patients are missing out on school or community events because of their hospitalization, so this is a good way for them to celebrate.”

The hospital says events like this bring employees closer and creates a stronger bond between patients and their caretakers. They say these types of events aren’t possible without contributions from the community and both patients and staff.