Patients and staff at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital enjoy holiday fun during Halloween parade

Superheroes, Minions, pint-sized princesses and a cowboy invaded the hallways of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa today. Some came on foot, others arrived in little red wagons and wheelchairs, and all were in search of Halloween goodies.

The holiday fun was part of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's annual Halloween parade, which is organized by the hospital's Child Life Department. During the event, costumed team members manned decorated tables as pediatric patients, joined by siblings and other family members, went trick-or-treating throughout the hospital hallways.

"This event is always just as much fun for the hospital staff as it is for the patients and families," said Christi Schwichtenberg, child life supervisor at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. "Many of the hospital departments go all out with their table decorations and treats, and they love interacting with the kids this way."

Schwichtenberg adds that the goal of the Halloween parade is to help pediatric patients feel like normal kids, increase the socialization between patients and caregivers, and to give the children an opportunity to celebrate the holiday despite being hospitalized.