A Guy Dressed As Spider-Man Is Now Cleaning the Windows At Boston Children’s Hospital
Photo via Katherine C. Cohen/Children’s Hospital
Boston has its very own super hero—one with the superhuman power of cleaning windows and making sick kids smile.
This week, Boston Children’s staff decided to take a new approach to getting the outside of their facility looking spotless while easing the minds of young patients. Using their contracted cleaning company, Hub Window Cleaning, representatives from the hospital worked out a deal to have one of the window-washers wear a Spider-Man outfit as he took care of his job. “He was pumped to do it, he was definitely excited. We did a test run last week, and he was a really good sport. He has been waving at the kids who were on the inside, and it has been pretty cool for not just the patients, but the staff is also excited,” said Lily Albin, the social media specialist at the hospital.
Albin said this is the first time Boston Children’s has tried this technique, offering an uplifting experience along with some of the other programs they’ve rolled out for children staying with them for extended periods of time. She said all day Monday, as Spider-Man scaled the side of the building, children crowded around the windows to watch the superhero at work. “[It] makes it a little extra fun. Any time we can do something fun for our patients that are here all day everyday, and get a little more excitement—we do that in a number of ways—I think anytime we can add that element it’s always a nice thing to do,” she said.
She said the hospital may consider bringing in some other superhero figures—like Captain America or Batman—to help get the job done in the future. The window washing at Boston Children’s is done once a month.
The decision to try the costumed approach, which she said was appreciated by hospital staff considering the summer heat, was part of a brainstorming project led by the hospital’s Patient Support Services division.
The idea was taken right out of the book of other children’s hospitals around the country. The superhero surprise has been something facilities in Philadelphia, and the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis have been doing.
People hanging around outside of the Boston hospital on Monday managed to spot Spider-Man way up high, scaling the building, as he tended to his window-cleaning duties.
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Others also tweeted about seeing the Spider-man-costume clad worker walking along the rooftop of the hospital, wondering if it was just an uber-comic fan. Turns out, it was a superhero of a different kind.
