Just for fun!

Just for fun!

WWMG's Family Medicine "Pumpkin Team" at the Hoyt Avenue Care Center

Patricia Nelson, center, Marci Farmer, left and Beverly Measor, on the right

I know it's a little late, and Halloween is far behind us. But I really do like this winning pumpkin from the Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Contest so I'm going to tell you about it anyway.

For the last three years at Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG) Family Medicine, the Halloween pumpkin carving contest has been a highly anticipated family tradition.  Employees chose a pumpkin from the selection supplied by the center and took them home to carve up and decorate. Then they were displayed on a table in the reception area. As patients came in, they were encouraged to vote on the pumpkin of their choice and sometimes they had such a hard time picking one pumpkin that they voted for several.  By Halloween, a winner was chosen and kudos were sent all around.

But as luck would have it, many of the prized pumpkins hardly made it through the Halloween season because they became squishy and shriveled up due to early carving.  This led to a more creative method of decorating pumpkins.

This year, the center asked their employees to dress up their pumpkins in any way they wanted, except carving or cutting them open. What came back was one of the most creative displays of pumpkin pageantry they’ve ever seen, including a Dorothy with red slippers, a Cheshire cat, an autumn leaf, and several other equally amusing themes.

The winner, however, was one-eyed Mike, a character from Monsters, Inc., who won the heart of many patients who came through the doors. Patricia Nelson is shown holding Mike as receptionist Marci Farmer stands to her left and Beverly Measor, medical records specialist, stands to her right.