By Marci Shatzman
Santa snuggled a newborn in his arms, with parental permission of course, as he made the rounds at West Boca Medical Center giving out toys all the way.
First stop, the hospital’s pediatric ER, where he surprised two young patients with presents and his presence. Then on to the intensive care unit, where he got squeals of joy just from peeking in a room. “Get better quickly,” he said.
Posing with a beautiful 6-week-old infant in the post-partum, “mothers and babies” section, proud parents showed him their baby and let Santa hold him, under the watchful eye of chief nursing officer Ricky Ramierz.
It didn’t take long for the word to spread, and even the hospital’s new CEO Jerod Hanlon turned up in the hallway to greet his visitor and pose with him. The nursing staff in one unit asked Santa to join them in a group photo at the Christmas tree.
The kids in the hospital rounds was nothing new for this Santa, used to stepping away from his usual spot in Town Center at Boca Raton mall that has sponsored his visit since 2018, said Jeannie Roberts, the mall’s director of marketing.
Spreading holiday joy had apparently worked. It was hard to tell who smiled the most, the parents, the children or Santa.
So where did he get all the toys he gave out? “From the North Pole,” Roberts said.