Inside the neonatal intensive care unit at Mercyhealth's Javon Bea Hospital–Riverside in Rockford, some of the tiniest patients in the region are getting dressed up for Halloween in costumes stitched by hand by one of their own nurses. JoAnn Gorsline, who works in the NICU, has created more than 52 unique costumes for the hospital's smallest patients, dressing premature infants in outfits meant to mark a milestone their families worried they might miss.
Gorsline is a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at Mercyhealth's Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside in Rockford, Illinois, according to KWQC. The hospital's NICU includes a 12-bed Small Baby Unit that cares for the smallest premature babies, born before 32 weeks' gestation, a level of care Mercyhealth describes as the only one of its kind in the region, per Mercyhealth. That unit sits within a larger 52-bed Level III NICU equipped with advanced technology, the hospital's website notes.
A Decade of Handmade Milestones
Reports have varied on exactly how long Gorsline has kept up the tradition. KWQC has described it as a decade-long effort, while WIFR reported in 2025 that it marked Gorsline's ninth year making the costumes. NBC15 had put the count at eight years back in 2023, and GazetteXtra once reported seven years of costume-making, while Rockford News First has characterized the tradition as spanning nearly a decade — accounts that differ but all point to a nurse who has stuck with the project year after year.
Whatever the exact number of years, the purpose behind the sewing has stayed consistent. The tradition helps ensure premature babies and their parents can share their first Halloween together, according to Rockford News First. Gorsline told the outlet she wants families to feel a sense of normalcy despite being in the hospital during the holidays, saying, “I want them to feel at least a little bit of normalcy because it is hard to be in the hospital during the holidays,” per the same account.
This Year's Costume Collection
This year's costume collection includes Bluey and Bingo costumes, along with koala and cupcake Squishmallow designs, according to KWQC. Past years have brought a wider rotation of outfits, with Rockford News First reporting that previous Halloween designs have included Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Babybel Cheese, and a cheeseburger with fries. The costumes are sized for babies small enough to need the hospital's Small Baby Unit, making the fit as much a feat of craftsmanship as the designs themselves.
Families don't have to say goodbye to the outfits once Halloween passes. Parents are allowed to keep the costumes made for their babies, according to GazetteXtra, turning a hospital stay into a keepsake rather than just a memory. WIFR's reporting on the project noted that the effort is specifically aimed at making sure parents of babies born prematurely don't miss out on their baby's first Halloween.
From Halloween Baskets to Easter Bonnets
The sewing project has outgrown its original season. What began with just Halloween costumes quickly spread to Easter, Rockford News First reported, with Gorsline later producing a springtime collection that included chick, bunny, carrot, colored Peeps and cross-with-flower designs. The expansion suggests the Rockford nurse's handiwork has become a fixture of the NICU calendar rather than a once-a-year project.
Rockford isn't the only hospital where staff have turned to costumes to bring a bit of joy to families navigating a NICU stay. The Washington Post recently reported on NICU babies elsewhere dressed in tiny costumes for their first Halloween, while ABC7 Chicago covered a similar effort at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where farmyard-themed costumes have brightened the unit's youngest patients. For families at Mercyhealth, though, it's Gorsline's needle and thread that have become part of the hospital experience — one costume, and one first Halloween, at a time.
