A Christmas Surprise for Hospital Patients
TTUHSC Pathology’s Santa, Mrs. Claus and Elves share holiday cheer
Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and elves delivered early Christmas presents to young patients
and spread holiday cheer to those still young at heart at UMC Children’s Hospital
and Southwest Cancer Center.
Employees from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology dressed up as Santa,
Mrs. Claus and elves and gave out candy canes, blankets, headphones, playing cards,
stuffed animals, word searches, coloring books and crayons and posed for pictures
with patients, visitors and employees.
“Our director, Warren Hatley, grew his beard and we started telling him he would be
a great Santa because his beard was getting long,” said Lupita Ramos, elf and lead
specialist. “He pondered the idea for a couple of days and suggested going to the
Children’s Hospital and Southwest Cancer Center and the rest of us could be his elves.
This is the first year that we did this, and we couldn’t be more happy and humbled
to bring smiles to these children and their parents.”
Between 25 to 30 young patients received presents from the group, who contributed
the funds to purchase the gifts.
The Department of Pathology members were motivated to do this project because the
nature of their job excludes seeing patients and they wanted that human interaction.
“The gift of giving is priceless, and we are privileged to work with a department
that did not hesitate to come together for this special event,” Ramos said.
“Although this is our first year to do this, there was a lot of enthusiasm for this
project. If all goes well, we plan on making this a yearly event,” Hatley (Santa Claus)
said.
The elves included Teri West, chief histologic tech; Nelda Cruz, lead coding and reimbursement
specialist; Irma Acevedo, senior coding and reimbursement specialist; and Paola Jimenez,
histologic assistant, portrayed Mrs. Claus.
“We are definitely looking forward to doing this again next year,” Ramos said.
Related Stories
Willed Body Memorial Service Honors Those Who Donated
On Memorial Day each May, a service is conducted at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Institute of Anatomical Sciences to pay respect to the Willed Body Program donors and their families.
Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience
Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.
Moseley Named Permian Basin Regional Dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
Kelly Moseley, DHSc, R.N., has been named the TTUHSC School of Nursing regional dean in the Permian Basin.
Recent Stories
TTUHSC Researcher Receives National Award
The AACR presented its Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award to TTUHSC Associate Professor Duke Appiah, Ph.D., MPH, at the AACR 2025 Annual Meeting in Chicago recently.
TTUHSC Teams Selected for 2025 Innosphere Life Sciences Accelerator Cohort
A pair of teams representing TTUHSC earned a spot among the 33 startup groups selected for the 2025 cohort of the Innosphere Life Sciences Accelerator.
Exploring New Frontiers in Patient Care
Jenna Kesey, Ph.D., associate managing director for the Clinical Research Institute (CRI) at TTUHSC, said it's important that the university provides opportunities for its patients to have access to innovative therapies through the clinical trial process.