MEDIA ADVISORY: Firefighters Pledge a Helping Hand to Save Santa’s UCSF Visit

By Suzanne Leigh

When Santa realized his reindeer needed to rest up for their trans-global Christmas expedition, he became worried about a promise he had made to visit sick children at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco.

Fortunately for the patients, the San Francisco Fire Department had a solution: they would loan Santa a fire truck – giving the reindeer a chance to chill out and snack on carrots before they made their Christmas deliveries.

The media are invited to join Santa as he arrives at the hospital in a fire truck and meets with young patients in the art studio.

When: Friday, Dec. 16, 2016.

           Arrival: 10:20 a.m.

           Hospital Visit: 10:30 to 11 a.m.

Where: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. The fire truck will pull into the roundabout outside the hospital at 1975 4th St. He will then meet patients inside the hospital.

Who will be with Santa:

  • Pediatric patients and siblings
  • Members of the San Francisco Fire Department will accompany Santa on the fire truck.
  • Michael Towne, Manager, Child Life Services

Media must confirm attendance inside the hospital prior to the event. Please contact Suzanne Leigh at (415) 680-5133; e-mail: [email protected]

UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises three top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area.