Hospital’s lobby tree display lifts spirits

Published 1:26 am Sunday, December 21, 2025

This year’s “Trees of Christmas” presentation at Merrehope is extraordinary as usual, a regional attraction. But one might argue the historic home faces stiff competition in the form of a robust and fun decorated-tree display at Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center.

A competition among Baptist Anderson’s many departments to determine which one is best at decorating a three-foot Christmas tree – each one different, linked to a popular holiday song – got a big response. The result is 26 colorful trees, many with artistic touches, assembled in a first-floor lobby near the parking garage.

A random drawing determined what department would decorate according to the message in a song, be it “Let it Snow,” “Little Drummer Boy,” or another classic. The interdepartmental competition, spearheaded by Dr. Troy Dukes, director of pastoral care at the hospital, was borrowed from a Baptist hospital in Jackson. This is the first test of the idea here.

The goal of lifting spirits was clearly achieved, just what the doctor ordered in this institution of care overlooking downtown Meridian.

“This is a place of great struggle and trauma for people,” Dukes said. “Any bit of light and healing we can bring in, we try to do it.”

One volunteer stationed near the trees said public response has been a pleasure to watch. “A lot of people come through, and they come back,” she said. “It’s very creative.”

An explosion of brightly-colored hats, fans and other items suggesting a fiesta is found on a tree representing the “Feliz Navidad” tune. Images of a smiling young Elvis lace the “Blue Christmas” tree. And next to yet another tree are figures showing Mommy embracing (no doubt planning to kiss) Santa Claus, with a nearby rendering of children with expressions of shock and dismay.

One novel decoration scheme was delivered by the transportation department that wheels patients around the sprawling hospital complex. The assigned “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” tune created an opportunity for displaying pictures of Harold Brassfield, a staffer known for exceptional singing and other musical talents.

And the “12 Days of Christmas” tree uses pictures depicting what appear to be hospital security guards’ dance moves – along with modified lyrics such as: “Four Code Calls, Three Security Monitors, Two Walkie Talkies, and a Badge in a Secure Tree.” The tree also features parking violation notices, framed by a backdrop of sparkling red or green.

This striking tree display is worth a visit, even if you don’t have medical things to tend to at the hospital. It’s expected to remain in place through the first week of January. (My deadline for this column didn’t allow for reporting who won the decoration contest yesterday.)

On the chance that Ochsner Rush Medical Center, just a block away, also had an ambitious tree display, I paid a quick visit. There, in the lobby, were a couple of impressive trees but nothing near the same scale. This hospital did, however, feature a receptionist who could be heard singing “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” She was lifting spirits too.

This hospitable lady invited me to sit at a piano in the lobby and belt out the tune of my choosing. Tempting, but I declined. It’s been several decades since my piano lessons, and I didn’t want to shake up anybody’s holiday.

Coleman Warner is a journalist and cultural historian, and can be contacted at legacypress.warner@gmail.com.