Krewe of Muses brings Mardi Gras spirit to STHS

Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

There won’t be any Mardi Gras parades this year, thanks to COVID-19, but members of one New Orleans superkrewe are making sure the healthcare heroes at St. Tammany Health System get at least a taste of Carnival anyway.

Eight Northshore members of the Krewe of Muses, all bedecked in full Carnival regalia – including masks, but not the fun kind – paid a visit Thursday (Feb. 11) to the health system’s Covington hospital campus. There, they showered nurses and other caregivers with affection and 100 of the krewe’s coveted signature throws: hand-decorated shoes.

Muses Lieutenant Eugenie Suggs, who headed up the St. Tammany effort, said the gesture was part of an outreach program dubbed Heels for Healers. Taking place at hospitals throughout the region, it was dreamed up as a festive display of gratitude in recognition of the months of hard work put in by frontline caregivers since the COVID-19 pandemic began almost a year ago.

“We’re not going to not have fun,” Suggs said. “And so this is our way of saying we see you all – and we thank you all.”

The collection of glittered, beaded and sequined footwear given away at St. Tammany Health System was arrayed Thursday morning (Feb. 11) in the lobby of the health system’s Covington hospital, where colleagues filed past and admired the handcrafted artistry. A lucky 100 were chosen in a random drawing to choose a shoe to take home.

Some of those on display featured familiar Muses flourishes, including rubber ducks, the Muses logo, and feathers galore. Many, however, also included medical imagery, such as a nurse’s hat, cardboard syringes and writing resembling an EKG tracing.

One of the most fitting designs was saved for health system CEO and President Joan Coffman: a chunky, ultra-high platform shoe designed to look like a bottle of hand sanitizer.

We’re not going to not have fun. And so this is our way of saying we see you all – and we thank you all.”

-Krewe of Muses Lieutenant Eugenie Suggs

While every shoe was unique – from a Wonder Woman-themed stilettos to a cowboy boot to mules, clogs, strappy shoes and others of various designs -- affixed to each was a sticker reading, “Thank you for being a healthcare hero. Love, Muses.”

Each also carried another element to further make them collector’s items: The year, 2021.

“These are the only ones that will say that,” Suggs said. “Since there’s no parade this year, the only people who will have these 2021 shoes are our healthcare heroes.”

It wasn’t a coincidence that the shoe giveaway was scheduled on the Thursday before Mardi Gras, which is typically the day Muses members hit the streets of New Orleans for their annual crowd-pleasing parade.

COVID, of course, made the prospect of parading this year a non-starter. But when asked whether krewe members considered simply taking a year off from their efforts, Suggs was quick to answer.

“No, not at all,” she said, explaining that, although the annual parade is the most conspicuous of the group’s activities, they – like many other major Carnival krewes – are dedicated to community service, parade or no parade.

St. Tammany Foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre, who helped facilitate the shoe giveaway, said the Muses’ show of support for healthcare workers certainly fit the bill.

“Our team at St. Tammany Health System is the best of the best,” Suhre said. “And they’ve been working so hard since the pandemic began. This visit from the Krewe of Muses is such a great morale booster, reminding our healthcare heroes that what they do matters – and that we all see it.”