|
Six year old pediatric patient Anthony Arellano plays
a video game on the newly donated PC Pals laptop at
University Medical Center Children's Center.
Las
Vegas -- Children undergoing treatment at University Medical
Center Children's Center have received seven PC Pals
sponsored through the partnership of Starlight
Starbright Children's Foundation and The Walt Disney
Company. PC Pals are laptop computers that pediatric
patients can use anywhere in the hospital to pass the
time and keep up with friends and school work while
waiting for treatments and procedures.
"Disney
understands the challenges that children face when
they're hospitalized. It's difficult to keep up with
classes and frustrating to be out of touch with your
family and friends," said Paula Van Ness, Starlight
Starbright Children Foundation's chief executive
officer. "PC Pals help pediatric patients overcome
their loneliness and boredom by connecting them with
email and instant messaging and allowing them to stay on
top of schoolwork and not fall behind their
classmates."
PC Pals keep kids connected to life and loved ones
outside the hospital through email and chat, provide
hours of entertainment and fun, and enable young
patients to easily keep up with school work. PC Pals are
preconfigured for immediate use and include flexible
design features to accommodate the needs of the
hospital. PC Pals support dial-up, wired, and wireless
Internet connections. They also accommodate important
hospital concerns, such as portability, security, and
infection control. Training and tech support are
provided to minimize downtime if a problem occurs. For
more information about PC Pals, visit www.starlight.org/pcpal.
"As a child life specialist, part of our job is to
create a fun and child-friendly environment for the
pediatric patients. With wonderful donations from great
organizations, like Starlight Starbright, it only makes
my job that much easier," said Kelley Kiesling, UMC
child life specialist.
Six year old pediatric patient Anthony Arellano and
UMC Child Life Specialist Kelley Kiesling play a video
game on the newly donated PC Pals computer.
About
UMC
UMC is the only public, non-profit hospital in
Clark County
and operates the state's only Level I Trauma Center and Lions
Burn Care Center
as well as several Care Centers. UMC is affiliated with the University of Nevada School
of Medicine and serves as the state's major clinical
campus. Through its affiliation with the School
of Medicine, residency programs in emergency medicine, internal
medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, family practice,
general surgery and pediatrics are offered at UMC. Since
1931, UMC has been providing comprehensive medical care
to the community.
About
the Walt Disney Company Foundation and Disney Outreach
The Walt Disney Company Foundation was established in
1951 by Walt and Roy O. Disney to serve a variety of
philanthropic needs and it continues to do so today,
particularly, in the education of children and youth and
in the arts. Disney Worldwide Outreach, part
of The Walt Disney Company, is dedicated to making the
wishes of families and children a reality through public
service initiatives, community outreach and volunteerism
in the areas of compassion, learning, the arts and the
environment. To learn more about The Walt Disney Company
Foundation and Disney's outreach programs, visit www.DisneyOutreach.com.
About
Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation
When
a child or teenager has a serious medical condition,
everyone in the family is affected. For more than two
decades, Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation has
dedicated itself to helping seriously ill children and
their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation
through entertainment, education and family activities.
Starlight Starbright's programs have been proven to
distract children from their pain, help them better
understand and manage their illnesses, and connect
families facing similar challenges so that no one feels
alone. Serving more than 180,000 children each month,
Starlight Starbright's array of outpatient,
hospital-based and Web offerings provide ongoing support
for children and families - before, during and after
medical treatment. To learn more visit www.starlight.org.
Supporters can use PayPal's Text to Give program to
donate $10 to Starlight Starbright today by texting
STAR10 to 78787!
###
|
