Medina hospital seeks public votes in pumpkin-decorating contest

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 29 October 2022 at 9:12 am

Provided photos: Alissa  Blount, left, and certified nursing assistant Ronnie DePaul display the pumpkins they created for Orleans Community Health’s first pumpkin decorating contest. They are in the hospital lobby, where visitors can vote on their favorite one.

MEDINA – The Orleans Community Health system is celebrating Halloween with its first-ever pumpkin-decorating contest.

Last week, Kristin Grose from Human Resources and Scott Robinson from Community Partners distributed 25 pumpkins to different Orleans Community Health departments and encouraged them to decorate them. This included the Albion Healthcare Center, dialysis centers in Batavia and Medina and the hospital’s different departments.

The pumpkins are now on display in Medina Memorial Hospital lobby, where the community is being asked to vote on their favorite pumpkin while visiting the hospital. The pumpkins have also been posted on the hospital’s Facebook page, where they can be voted on there through Halloween.

The winning department will get a pizza party, according to Alissa Blount, a nurse from the second floor.

Ronnie DePaul, a certified nursing assistant on the second floor, painted her pumpkin pink and created a pig with three piglets made from tiny butternut squash. Appropriately, pink is the color associated with October as breast cancer awareness month.

“Overall this is fun,” Robinson said. “We want patients to see something that’s a little more festive when they come for appointments. Internally, it’s an enjoyable competition for bragging rights.”

The winning pumpkin will be announced Monday on Halloween.

“This and other holiday related events are returning this year, such as breakfast with Santa in December,” Robinson said. “This seemed like a great way to kick off the fun.”

A row of uniquely decorated pumpkins on display in the lobby of Medina Memorial Hospital includes an “IV patient,” a patchwork pumpkin and a pumpkin pig with her butternut squash piglets.