Even with the unseasonably warm weather over 1,700 dinosaurs, super heroes, pirates and bumble bees flooded through the doors of Bassett Army Community Hospital Oct. 31 for the fifth official 'Boo to the Flu' Halloween event.
What began as a Family Readiness Group trick-or-treating activity over eight years ago for Medical Department Activity -- Alaska staff and family members, has now turned into a full-blown community event, which is exactly what the staff was hoping for.
"A lot of times when our beneficiaries come to our hospital it is because they are sick and need of care, said Col. Christopher Jarvis, commander of MEDDAC-AK. "Boo to the Flu is a great opportunity to share in the joy our staff members have in taking care of them throughout the year."
Most events offered by MEDDAC-AK offer a little bit of fun with the majority of the emphasis being on health education, but Boo to the Flu is organized to do just the opposite. While flu vaccines were given to 190 beneficiaries during the event, candy, a haunted house and a place to have a fun, warm community gathering was the focus of the event.
This was the first year of witnessing the large scope of the event for lead organizer 1 Lt. Chelsea Brinson, a registered nurse assigned to the maternal newborn unit at Bassett ACH but said the event lived up to the hype.
"I was nervous about how many people I heard would be coming through the doors, but was excited to see how much fun everyone was having, all the costumes families were wearing and the elaborate displays staff members produced," said Brinson.
In the weeks leading up to the event, staff members donated bags of candy, and organized section themes such as Pokemon Go, Scooby Doo, and Where's Waldo. For the first time since the inception of the event, a large candy donation was brought in from an outside source.
3-21 Infantry Regiment brought over approximately 400 pounds of candy the night before the event.
"We really appreciated seeing 3-21, a group outside of MEDDAC-AK, donate to our cause," said Brinson. "That really is the whole point of this event; coming together as a community. Having them see it as an important event and help us to make sure the event continues to thrive is very much appreciated."
Seeing 1,700 people through the doors in two hours is no easy task and it took the work of many volunteers to make it happen.
According to Brinson it took about 50 volunteers doing tasks such as handing out candy, security and crowd control.
"I was so impressed with the way the staff came together," said Brinson. "They were in high spirits and had a lot of fun from the first trick-or-treater to the last."
Brinson wasn't the only one to notice the staff's effort.
"Thank you for hosting this amazing indoor event for our community," said one anonymous comment sent in through the Interactive Customer Evaluation system. "It was obvious that there were many hours of planning, setting-up and special thanks to all the staff staying late to pass out candy."
A lot of time and dedication from the staff went into bringing this event to the community, said Jarvis.
"It truly speaks to their commitment to not just our beneficiaries, but our community as a whole."
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