Across the Catholic health ministry, associates, their families and members of the community are gathering in various ways to celebrate the Christmas season. They're maintaining long-held traditions and coming up with new ways to spread cheer.
Here is a sample from social media of some of the special events:
Bon Secours Mercy Health
As it lit its first Christmas tree on campus, Mercy Health — St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio, also marked its 170th anniversary. The evening's activities included a local high school glee club singing Christmas carols, a visit from Santa, hot chocolate and cookies.
CHRISTUS Health
CHRISTUS Health associates and community supporters donated decorated trees to raise money for the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Foundation of Longview, Texas, in its third annual festival of trees. The more than two dozen trees were on display in the hospital's lobby, with themes of superheroes, sugar plum, and even Chick-fil-A. The event raised $3,239.
CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Hospital — Tyler in Texas kicked off the season with its annual Christmas tree lighting with cocoa, a visit from Santa, and a performance from the St. Gregory Cathedral School third-grade choir.
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital — Westover Hills in Texas also marked the beginning of the season with a tree lighting celebration that included a performance from the Westover Hills Band. Following the hospital's tradition, each department made and hung an ornament that best symbolized them.
Ascension
Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, Ascension NE Wisconsin — St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, and Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital — Franklin Campus held tree lighting and blessing ceremonies. The lights on the trees symbolize reflection and remembrance for those who have died. More than 300 people have been recognized through Ascension Wisconsin Foundation's Love Lights campaign.
Mercy
Mercy Hospital South in suburban St. Louis invited staff and relatives to its annual Breakfast with Santa event. The hospital served thousands of pancakes to more than 500 people.
CommonSpirit Health
Staff of St. Luke's Health-Patients Medical Center in Pasadena, Texas, collected and contributed 600 pounds of food to the annual Pasadena food drive. The drive supports several local food pantries.
Mission Hope Cancer Center at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, California, hosted its annual ornament decorating event for patients and their families. People gathered in the lobby to decorate an ornament and enjoy desserts, coffee and hot chocolate. The cancer outreach and education staff leads the event, which gives people the chance to honor someone who has died of cancer or who is battling the disease.
Avera Health
Employees from Avera St. Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen, South Dakota, rang bells outside a grocery store for The Salvation Army to kick off the hospital's Christmas Caring for Others, a tradition to support community causes and families. This year marks the 44th year of Avera St. Luke's Christmas Caring for Others.
Senior leaders at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center in Marshall, Minnesota, and Avera St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre, South Dakota, made the rounds with cocoa, cider, and cookies to thank employees. Meanwhile, Merrill the Elf was up to some holiday antics at Avera Merrill Pioneer Hospital in Rock Rapids, Iowa. His adventures were documented on social media.
SSM Health
SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City held its annual Saints Santa Run, which included several races and photos with Santa, face painting, a costume contest and a start and finish line celebration on the hospital campus.
The Joy Committee at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital — Jefferson City in Missouri treated team members to an ice cream sundae bar.
SSM Health De Paul Hospital — St. Louis partnered with the St. Louis Area Foodbank and hosted a free food distribution event, supporting 214 households with 739 people, including 307 children.
Providence St. Joseph Health
Hurricane Motorsports in Spokane, Washington, delivered toys and other gifts in sports cars to Providence Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. The business donated the items for the hospital's Santa Store. Pediatric patients and their families are invited to "shop" the store to pick out gifts. While the patients sleep on Christmas Eve, Santa and his helpers deliver the wrapped gifts to patient rooms.
Wheeling Hospital
Five members of the Wheeling Symphony performed at the Wheeling Hospital Continuous Care Center in West Virginia as snow blanketed the ground outside.
UPMC
A Christmas tree appeared in an interactive sculpture in the UPMC Mercy Pavilion in Pittsburgh. The sculpture, called turn II, was created by Maine-based artist Amy Stacy Curtis and features 700 cubes with different colors and raised shapes on each side that visitors can turn to create different designs.
Interactive, accessible artwork is a hallmark of the UPMC Mercy Pavilion, which opened in 2023 to care for patients at the UPMC Vision Institute and the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.
St. Francis Healthcare System
Keeping with tradition, Saint Francis Healthcare System recreated the scene of Jesus' birth with its annual outdoor Live Nativity. The system, based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, also hosted a gingerbread house decorating contest, with the winner chosen by an online vote.
FMOL Health
At FMOL Health Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Christmas celebrations included a team member-led Nativity and joyful gospel choir pop-up concert.
Holy Name Medical Center
The Teaneck, New Jersey, Fire Department gave Santa a ride to Holy Name Medical Center and stuck around to bring toys and smiles to pediatric patients. The entourage even made a special stop in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit to visit the tiniest patients.