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Santa and Mrs. Claus spread holiday cheer in local NICU's

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by Dana Knowles, Brian Willie • Published on • Last modified on
Mr. and Mrs. Claus paid a special visit to infants in the NICU and their families. 
Centura Health, Envision Healthcare
News | Rocky Mountain PBS

DENVER — A deep belly laugh could be heard throughout the hallways of Centura Hospital. “My absolute favorite thing every single holiday is getting to see Santa, even without kids, I want to see Santa,” said Amber McCulloch while tearing up. 

McCulloch is the mother of three babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, also known as the NICU. 

With COVID protocols making hospital visits more difficult for family members, healthcare workers tried to bring a little joy to the families facing such a difficult time during the holidays, so this year Santa and Mrs. Claus visited multiple Centura Hospital locations in Colorado to see families and their babies in the NICU.

Dr. Bridget Buzzella added that healthcare workers often become like family to parents with babies in the NICU. 

“Especially in the last few years with COVID and now we’re in the peak of RSV and flu season,” she explained adding that having a visit from Santa creates more of an atmosphere of home. 

Santa and Mrs. Claus visit NICU babies in local hospitals

“Visitation restrictions have been lifting the ability of siblings to visit the babies in the NICU, so having a family environment and family feel with these special touches makes hard situation just a little bit better,” explained Dr. Buzzella.

Victoria Thyme’s baby has been the NICU for 39 days. “Having Santa come in was a little bit of joy that we could look forward to,” she added.

Victoria Thyme looks on as her son meets Santa. 

Lori Boarman, a nurse, says that any small amount of joy that they can bring to families this time of year is worth it. 

“This is a hard time of year to be stuck here in the NICU having to go back and forth because they can’t take their baby home at night.”

Heather Kempsell, Perinatal Nurse Navigator, explained that while having a new child is a big change for any family, it can be especially hard for families whose babies are born prematurely, and/or with health issues.

"It's really important for them to know that they're not forgotten. That people care about them, and that people want to see them and people want to bring joy to them."

Dana Knowles is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS and can be reached at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.

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