An Unlikely Santa
Date: January 26, 2009

He wears a bright red suit trimmed out in white fur and carries a sack of goodies on his back, but Bob Troy is an unlikely Santa.

Bob doesn’t even celebrate Christmas–he’s Jewish, but that doesn’t stop this friend of Floyd from extending wishes for peace and good will to others who do celebrate.

Bob’s compassion and understanding have led him to play Santa at Floyd Medical Center on Christmas Day for the past several years.

“Nobody is in the hospital on Christmas Day because they want to be,” Bob told the Rome News-Tribune, who featured him in a front-page article this past Christmas. “A lot of them are lonely on a day when they should be happy. So, we come and deliver some treats for them.”

This Christmas, Bob brought along some young elves from the Hebrew School at the Rodeph Sholom Synagogue to help spread Christmas cheer. Santa and his elves visited every floor of the hospital, stopping in patient rooms to deliver treats and sing Christmas carols.

“The kids are great!” Bob said. “They sang ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Jingle Bell Rock–I don’t know how they know so many Christmas carols!”

Amy Barger, a nurse in the Stephen D. Smith M.D., Pediatric Center at Floyd, escorted Santa and his young helpers, who greeted not only patients and visitors, but employees as well.

“Most of our children were just waking up when he arrived,” Amy said. “They were so excited to see him.” Bob’s fluency in Spanish made his visit even more special for Hispanic patients and families.

Bob has been playing Santa at Floyd since he first moved to Rome in 1999. This Christmas Day gift from an unlikely source celebrates the holiday in a way that transcends the religious guidelines that are used to outline it.

 “The Christmas spirit is about making people comfortable and happy where they are,” says Bob, “if we can do that, then it’s a real blessing.”

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