Operation: Holiday Cheer
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — If you’re anywhere near Broward Health Medical Center this morning, look up.
Santa Claus and friends are expected to rappel down the side of the hospital as part of Operation: Holiday Cheer, an annual event aimed at giving hospitalized patients a jolt of holiday energy at a time when most people are doing the exact opposite—getting ready for family, finishing shopping, wrapping up work, and heading into the week.
The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 22, at Broward Health Medical Center, 1600 S. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale firefighters and police officers will be joined by clinical staff from the hospital for the demonstration and the visits that follow.
The visual centerpiece is the rappel: firefighters dressed in festive costumes coming down the exterior of the building, playing to patients watching from windows and common areas. It’s designed to be fun and simple, especially for kids who’ve been stuck inside, stuck in a routine, stuck on a floor where the day can feel long.
After the rope work, the focus shifts inside. Volunteers are expected to head into pediatric areas with toys and treats, moving unit to unit to meet patients and families where they are. Hospital areas listed to be visited include the Pediatric Emergency Department, the Hematology-Oncology Clinic, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and surgical floors.
Organizers describe it as a longstanding partnership between Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Fort Lauderdale Police, and Broward Health. In the weeks leading up to the event, firefighters sold memorabilia to raise money for the toys and treats distributed during the visits.
For Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, it’s one of the public-facing moments that lands differently than the usual call load. The department was established in 1912 and provides fire rescue and emergency management services in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, and Lazy Lake. It operates out of 12 stations and responds to more than 54,000 calls for service annually, described as the busiest department in Broward County. The agency also has special operations teams—Hazardous Materials, Technical Rescue, Marine Rescue, SWAT Medics, and Aircraft Rescue Firefighting—and provides Ocean Rescue at Fort Lauderdale’s beaches.
For Broward Health, it’s another piece of a much larger footprint in the county. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Broward Health is among the 10 largest public healthcare systems in the United States. The system includes five hospitals, two trauma centers, and more than 50 health centers and physician practices across specialties. Broward Health also notes its academic partnership with Florida Atlantic University and its role as the county’s first statutory teaching hospital, alongside a growing graduate medical education program.
The system says it employs more than 11,000 employees and physicians and provides care to all patients regardless of ability to pay. Broward Health lists an operating budget of $1.6 billion and says it annually provides almost $225 million in charity and uncompensated care.
But today’s event is less about numbers and more about a short window of noise and color—something patients can remember from inside a hospital room. A firefighter in a costume on a rope outside the window doesn’t fix anything. It also doesn’t have to. It’s a break in the day, and for a lot of families, that’s enough.
