A variety of superheroes descended upon Kingston General Hospital’s pediatric care unit as what has become an annual tradition between Elite Window Cleaning and Kingston Health Sciences Centre returned on Friday morning.
Staff for the company donned a variety of superhero, or Star Wars, costumes on Friday before making their way down from the roof to wash the windows while using the opportunity to try to brighten the day of young patients, their parents, and the staff in the building.
Erika Kooi, Program Manager of Pediatrics, NICU, and Child Life at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, experiencing superhero day for the second year said it brings an “electrifying” feeling to the building and everyone in it.
She says it’s a great way to help lift the spirits of everyone.
“Even people who don’t work in pediatrics are just so ignited by this event and it just really brings the joy to everybody,” Kooi said.
“It’s really nice to see how it improves the day for everybody.”
The entire descending spectacle is relatively short, but staff participate by decorating the halls of the unit and dressing up to help create an especially uplifting environment for the whole day, and when they’re done actually cleaning the windows the superhero team makes their way into the building to greet kids and their families.
Kooi says now in its ninth year, the hospital and staff try to make little improvements every year, and are getting good at making the most of the day.
“There’s a lot of people involved in it, and it is kind of simple in a way, because really we’re decorating, but it’s lighthearted, it’s fun, and it’s something that just improves the experience for everybody,” Kooi said.
Greg Przada, a franchise business advisor at Elite Window Cleaning, was dressed up as Batman on Friday for his third time being involved in superhero day.
He says it’s “easily” the best day of the year for the company, and something that everyone looks forward to and really gives them an appreciation for what the staff, patients, and their families are going through every day.
“We never imagined in the first year that it would kind of pick up and latch on like it did,” Przda said.
“It’s our job, and we just put on costumes and do it for a day and have some fun, and you realize the parents, the kids, and the staff are the ones that really, -like it sounds cheesy- but they’re the superheroes because they do that every day, and it blows my mind that they’re able to do that.”
