BATON ROUGE - While very few people would find joy in being admitted to a hospital during a pandemic, workers at one department in Baton Rouge General Hospital on Bluebonnet are making an effort to help patients feel they have a reason to smile during their hospital stay this holiday season.

Hospital staff have transformed the General Surgery Floor into a veritable winter wonderland. Patients see nurses dressed in holiday gear that includes Christmas sweaters, hats, and other clothing items that feature bells and lights. 

This isn't the first time Baton Rouge General workers have celebrated the holiday season with extensive decorations. It's an annual tradition that begins at the start of December.

But hospital workers felt that this year, in view of the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus health crisis, it was especially important to try and bring joy to hospitalized individuals and frontline workers alike. 

Rochelle C. Howard, the hospital's Nurse Manager explained this to WBRZ during an interview, saying, "Because of the pandemic this year, we definitely wanted to make sure that our patients... have bright and cheery days, and have cheery staff because of course this has been a very bad financial year for most of us. So, our nurses decided that we definitely had to continue the attire, for Christmas spirit." 

The efforts of the hospital workers haven't gone unnoticed by patients, who view it as a kind way of bringing hope, optimism, and even joy to a difficult situation.

For more information on Baton Rouge General Hospital, please visit BRGeneral.org, or follow it on Instagram @batonrougegeneral.