2019-May-07

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Bringing Courage and Technology for Hospitalized Children Into the “Lion’s Den”

By Mark Leff, CX Customer Success Management, United States

I’ll never forget George’s smile — and the enormous emotions it stirred inside.

It was a cold December morning several years ago in Valhalla, New York. I was visiting Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. That day, a special visitor was coming.

Santa Claus was on his way to meet young patients. The encounter would take place in the hospital’s “Lion’s Den”— a high-tech playroom specially designed by Edwin Schlossberg. These colorful rooms are built for Children’s Hospitals so that young patients can play games and interact with friends and family — from anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately, George, just 6 years of age, could not get to the Lion’s Den. He was forced to stay in his room, isolated while getting bone marrow treatment.

So we did the next best thing. We brought Santa to him — sort of.

Using Cisco Webex and a laptop, we gave him a virtual Santa Claus experience. George’s face immediately lit up with a smile! It was a vision that has stayed with me for all these years. It is one of the driving forces behind my mission to support children’s hospitals.

It Takes a Heart of a Lion

Over the past 15 years, I’ve forged a strong relationship with Companions in Courage (CiC) Foundation. The 501(c)(3) charitable organization was founded in 1997 by National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine.

Its goal is to raise funds to design and build its Lion’s Dens in hospitals across the United States and Canada. For me, it is all about providing sick or injured children with a break from the boredom, pain, or loneliness of the hospital.

It all started in the mid-90s when Pat was visiting a young patient in Buffalo’s Children’s Hospital. The visits got him wondering how to make it possible for kids in hospitals to connect to the outside world and distract them from their day-to-day treatment regimen and aid in the healing process.

That was the inspiration for the Lion’s Den, and Companions in Courage was born. Over the past 15 years, I have worked with CiC to develop their strategy and maximum the positive impact in these hospitals. During that time, I have also built relationships with Child Life and Pediatric professionals nationwide and have a great appreciation for the incredible work they do.

Today, there are more than 20 Lion’s Dens in children’s hospitals throughout North America. There, the young patients can surf the web, play video games, and participate in video conferencing — be it with friends, celebrities, even Santa Claus — using top-of-the-line collaboration tools, including Webex.

Speaking of famous people, CiC has attracted lots of athletes and celebrities to visit Lion’s Dens. Actors Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli, and NHL All-Stars and Heisman Trophy winners have made visits.

Technology Partnerships Forecast Bright Future

CiC’s mission is simple: “No child in the fight for life or health should ever have to go through it alone.”

CiC impacts more than 50,000 children every year. With changes with how we interact with technology over the past 15 years, the foundation is now evolving into a more virtual approach, known as the CiC Network.

The objective is using mobility to bring the Lion’s Den to children at their bedside, just as we did for George. This includes visits by Santa, athletes, and celebrities visits, plus lots of great content to educate, entertain, and interact. It makes a difference!

A couple of years ago, CiC Executive Director Jim Johnson felt it was time to pool resources. We already had amazing expertise in volunteers from different high-tech companies. Jim created a Technology Advisory Board, which I was asked to head.

Besides Cisco, the board consists of representatives from Google, Microsoft, and other industry heavy-hitters. A number of Cisco partners are also involved, including The Ergonomic Group in NYC. .

Together, we use analytics to measure trends. This helps create technology roadmaps so that CiC can focus on the needs of communities that the hospitals serve by building virtual models. This effectively enables us to bring the Lion’s Den to a child’s bedside, when necessary.

I am pleased to say that George has fully recovered and is a happy and healthy teenager with many great memories of his Santa visit. His story is a great example of how CiC impacts so many children’s lives and how technology can make a positive and measurable impact.

We Could Use Your Help

Would you be interested in getting involved with CiC? Know of a hospital that could benefit from our services?

Please email me or visit the CiC website.

You can also donate to CiC via Bright Funds.

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