CHI Health St. Francisco celebrates Halloween with a pumpkin decorating contest

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – CHI Health St. Francis is celebrating Halloween with a pumpkin decorating contest that supports a good cause.

Several hospital employees decorated pumpkins representing their department, which will be displayed in the facility’s lobby. From there, hospital employees and visitors can vote on which one they think is the best by purchasing a ticket from the gift shop or from the night shift nurse for $1. A dollar per ticket goes to the St. Francis Foundation.

St Francis Foundation director Melissa Griffith said the idea for the competition came from a staff member who wanted to increase engagement among staff.

“Chelsea from the emergency department reached out to us and she always loves a good little competition and we really enjoy challenging all of our different departments and our staff throughout the hospital to get involved and really show off some of their talents,” said Griffith. “When she came to me about the pumpkin contest, I was like, ‘Why not?’ Let’s go ahead and do this and have some fun.”

This is the first year of the competition and so far it has been a success and has caused quite a stir in the hospital lobby.

“The response has been huge, so when everyone comes to the cafeteria or the cafeteria or the gift shop, it was nice to have everyone come,” said Emergency Department Manager Chelsea Schweitzer. “It brought a smile to their faces and they laugh about it and talk about which one they like best. It’s fun to see them vote for a little friendly competition. It was really great.”

Schweitzer also said her department is excited to participate in the competition because they always get creative when dealing with emergency situations.

“We always think outside the box, and that’s what brought us together,” Schweitzer said. “We always love to host parties, especially when children come to us for unexpected events at this time of year. We love to treat them. We have a handy pediatric cart with lots of toys and games, and we did a great job with the pumpkin competition.”

As successful as this year’s inaugural event was, Griffith said there are still departments and employees who didn’t get the opportunity to participate and hope to have an even bigger and better competition next year.

“A lot of people are really working on what pumpkin they’re going to make next year and how they can get involved because they missed out on that opportunity this time,” Griffith said. “I think we’re going to double the number of entries on our pumpkins next year, so we’re really excited and we might have to do a Christmas theme or something.”

The final votes will be tallied Thursday afternoon and the winning department will be able to donate to a fundraiser of their choice through the St. Francis Foundation.

Click here to sign up for our daily KSNB Local4 digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your inbox.