Halloween x-rays!

Children 'fascinated' with annual Samaritan offering

MOSES LAKE - Between all the tricking and treating, Columbia Basin youth will once again have the opportunity to see the insides of their candy this Halloween.

On Wednesday, Samaritan Healthcare will again set up its portable X-ray machine in the hospital lobby to scan trick-or-treaters' candy from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Community Relations Coordinator Connie Opheikens estimated the event has been going on for about 15 to 16 years. It has multiple purposes, she believes.

"Number one, it's for safety - anything that is glass or metal, screws, razor blades, that type of thing can be detected," she said.

Nothing has ever been found in the years the event has been put on, Opheikens said.

"It makes parents feel a little more secure, there's always that stigma out there that somebody's going to do something," she said.

But parents are more aware these days of where their kids trick or treat, Opheikens added, pointing to events at Moses Lake High School and in downtown Moses Lake.

"We kind of do this for those kids that don't go to those areas," she said. "I love the fact our community is pulling together for the safety of our kids. And it's a fun thing."

The hospital also likes to host the children on a fun night, a trip to the hospital when they haven't been in an accident.

"They can come in, we can show them their candy, which they are fascinated with, and they can kind of see if they have to have an X-ray, it's not going to hurt anything, you can still take your candy home and eat it," Opheikens said.

Parents often ask if the candy is safe to eat after being scanned.

"The radiation is there (only when the power is on), you turn the power off and it's gone," Opheikens explained. "It's such a low dose - we don't take picture film of your candy."

Opheikens said the only cost to the hospital is the amount of electricity to run through the machine and technician time.

"It's minimal to nothing for the safety of the kids," she said.

Hospital staff will

occasionally throw in a plastic toy to see them under the X-ray machine.

"It opens up a lot of questions," Opheikens said. "Kids are very curious and fascinated by it."

One child got up and got behind the machine, Opheikens recalled. When the technician asked what he was doing, the boy replied, "I want to see where my candy went, who ate my candy?"

The parents are glad the hospital offers the service, Opheikens said.

"It doesn't take very long, it's just one more stop along the way," she said. "And the kids love it. There's absolutely nothing to be scared of … The most is that when you take the tray with their candy, they get kind of worried the candy's not coming back. 'Where are you going?'"

For more information, contact Opheikens at 509-766-7355.