Brown University

Brown University building upgrades lighting to ensure greetings reach young patients

The Brown University Sciences Library, a 180-foot tall building on Providence’s East Side, has strengthened their commitment to the “Good Night Lights” tradition by installing LED lighting fixtures, which blink each night at 8:30 p.m. for the patients of Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

The affixed system of lights and timers on the library ensures that the hospital’s young inpatients are wished “good night” each evening. It’s the latest gesture by a local organization in what is a fast-growing and heart-warming tradition.

“They took a simple invitation, and then invested a lot of money into the project. It really made them stand out,” said Steve Brosnihan, a Hasbro Children’s volunteer who started Good Night Lights. “It went from a security guard with a flashlight to large LED lights on the building. It’s awesome.”

The installation of LED lighting on one of the city’s highest-reaching buildings serves as another warm reminder of Providence’s efforts to ease the hospital experience for some of Rhode Island’s youngest hospital patients. 

“When we were doing it with the flashlight, it was maybe 95 percent of the time we were able to do it,” said Steven Lavallee of the Brown University Sciences Library. “Now with the beacons, we are able to participate every night. We just like it because it guarantees the children will always have that signal coming from Brown University.”