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Hospital staff, volunteers plant pinwheels for kids

plant 2,722 colorful reminders representing each child born at the hospital last year to impress on the community the need to keep them safe

Pia Hallenberg Christensen  •  Staff writer
Published April 2, 2008

Mackenzie Mortluck, left, and Alyssa Beck help plant 2,722 pinwheels on Tuesday at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The Spokesman-Review (CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON The Spokesman-Review) Related information Read more

The good-natured honking from passing drivers began after the first couple of hundred pinwheels appeared. And it was followed by cheers and waves as staff, volunteers, families and friends of Sacred Heart Medical Center planted 2,722 pinwheels – one for each baby born at the medical center in 2007 – in the cold lawn along McClellan Street.

"We want to bring some awareness to the entire community that there's nothing more important for us to do than to raise the next generation safely," said Mike Wilson, president of the Spokane hospital, as he held a bundle of pinwheels. "We want to be a part of raising awareness about child abuse in Spokane."

The pinwheel planting is part of April's Our Kids: Our Business campaign – a collaborative effort among children's agencies, law enforcement, nonprofit social service groups and media professionals.

"It is very important for us to do this on the first day of the month," said Susan Stacey, manager of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Pediatric Intermediate Unit.

Stacey had all the pinwheels stored in her office, and as snow blew in over the weekend, she began to worry. "I was thinking we may have to bring ice picks out here," she said. "But now the sun is out and it's just beautiful."

Nurses in scrubs and managers in suits spread out along the southwest corner of the hospital, some using screwdrivers and garden tools to punch holes in the ground.

"It was so cold and rainy last year when we did this," said Sherry Maughan, director of the Children's Hospital and Women's Health Center. "This year, we couldn't wait to get out here and get started."

Maughan likes the collaborative effort behind Our Kids: Our Business and the significance of planting a pinwheel for each birth last year. "It's really a reminder that we need to make sure they all grow up with no abuse in their lives."

Soon the pinwheels stretched from the main entrance, along the garage and all the way up to the corner of McClellan and Ninth Avenue – swirling and glittering in the sun.

"Doesn't this look great?" Stacey said as more staffers and volunteers came pouring out of the hospital. "That's the nice thing about a great cause – it brings everyone out."