Wonder Woman Gal Gadot visits Inova Children's Hospital, wowing kids and raising provider profile

Actor Gal Gadot became superhero to kids, staff and the nonprofit Inova Children's Hospital Friday when she paid a visit in the red, gold and blue costume of Wonder Woman.

Staff told the kids that day that Wonder Woman would be arriving, but the children thought they were getting a visit by someone dressed as Wonder Woman, said Jamie Gentille, director of Child Life Services for Inova in Falls Church, Virginia.

They didn't know the actor was the real deal until Gadot showed up, she said, prompting cheers and a few tears.

Gadot, who is in the Washington, D.C. area shooting the sequel to Wonder Woman, talked to more than 20 children for an hour-and-a-half.

Gadot visited children from babies to teenagers, plus their parents and treated staff to the biggest celebrity ever to visit the hospital.   

It was Gadot's idea, Gentille said. The hospital got a call from a Warner Brothers representative who let them know that a celebrity wanted to visit. Even the hospital didn't originally know who that would be.

For Inova, which operates on philanthropy, the celebrity visit helped to raise the hospital's community profile, in an effort that Gentille believes could translate into needed donations.

"My department child life services, we are non-revenue producing service, we rely on philanthropy to function," Gentille said. "It raises awareness of who we are and the support that we need. As a nonprofit, we really want to communicate to community what we're doing. We rely on the support of the community. This kind of visit helps people learn about our hospital that is right in their backyard."

For the visit, the hospital needed to put security in place and coordinate the visits. 

Inova performs routine surgeries such as tonsillectomies and also treats more serious conditions such as cancer. It has a cardiac program and intensive care units. Sometimes children are there for months at a time.

The certified child life specialists work to decrease anxiety among their patients. Part of that, Gentille said, is just letting kids be kids.

"Really, having this kind of visit is so monumental for us," she said. "We want kids to walk away from the hospital experience and see it in a good light. This obviously surpassed anything we could do on our own. It gives our families such a magical experience."

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com