Crime & Safety
Public Safety Heroes Drop In On Inova Children's Patients
Local firefighters and law enforcement officers rappel down Inova Children's Hospital's exterior in costume to wish patients well.
FAIRFAX, VA — Patients at Inova Children's Hospital in Fairfax received a superheroic visit Monday morning from a group of public safety heroes. Volunteers from the Fairfax County fire and police departments, as well as the Herndon Police Department, rappelled down the outside of the hospital building on Gallows Road and greeted patients through their hospital room windows.
Visits by firefighters and police officers to children in the hospital may not be that unusual, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for the volunteers to greet the patients safely in person, according to Ashley Hildebrandt, public information officer with the Fairfax County Fire and EMS Department.
For Monday's visit, the volunteers decided to think outside the box and look outside the building for a fun and safe solution. The superhero costumes helped to make the experience more exciting for the young patients.
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Chief Maggie DeBoard and SPO Tony Depoto of the Herndon Police Department took their turns rappelling down the hospital building and greet the patients inside.
"SPO Depoto and I were honored to represent Herndon PD for this event," DeBoard said. "The expressions we saw on the faces of the kids and their families while scaling down the outside of the building and interacting with them through the glass, made us both realize the tremendous impact that this had. These young heroes have largely been isolated since the outbreak of COVID, and we were elated to be a part of anything that made them feel better about their day.”
Find out what's happening in Herndonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Honored to "hang out" at @InovaHealth with our hero pals from @ffxfirerescue & @FairfaxCountyPD SWAT to say hi to the real heroes...the kids at #inovachildrenshospital. #grateful #herndonpd #FCFRD #FCPD
See more pics here: https://t.co/RYy3eLHo4z pic.twitter.com/JDdc1Ury06
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) August 11, 2020
Thank you @FairfaxCountyPD SWAT and @HerndonPolice #superheroes for “hanging” with the kids at #InovaChildrensHospital today! #childrenshospital #grateful pic.twitter.com/uXbB9FDPS7
— Inova Health (@InovaHealth) August 10, 2020
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