Starlight Children’s Foundation

A hospital stay is never fun but it can feel especially hard for children who are away from school, friends and familiar routines.

At Niagara Health’s Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines, new gaming technology from the Starlight Children’s Foundation is proving to be the cure for hospital-stay doldrums.

With the help of grants from the Niagara Community Foundation (NCF), pediatric patients now have access to a Nintendo Switch handheld gaming device and a Starlight Fun Centre — a gaming station on a rolling cart complete with TV, controllers and a library of 25 preloaded games.

NCF provided a $2,500 Mini Grant for the handheld system, purchased last fall, and a Community Grant worth $7,500 to sponsor the fun centre, installed in January.

Without that support, children who are hospitalized would have to pass their time another way.

“These units have to be sponsored before we can send them to a hospital,” says Kaitlin Kiraly of the Starlight Children’s Foundation. “Kids in St. Catharines wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play with the fun centre or handheld device without the Niagara Community Foundation.”

Starlight is a national charity that partners with about 150 Canadian pediatric hospitals to provide programs and technology designed to make hospital stays more comfortable for young patients.

With games like Mario Kart or Just Dance within reach, pediatric patients can distract themselves while hospital staff change bandages, draw blood or perform other procedures. Duels with siblings, parents and hospital staff also offer an easy way to connect during visits and check-ins.

But these devices provide more than entertainment.

Ninety-eight percent of hospital partners say Starlight Gaming Systems positively impact patients’ mental health and make interactions with staff easier. In some cases, patients even required less sedation thanks to the calming diversion provided by the video games, Kiraly says.

Each device can reach more than 2,100 children every year and last about eight years, meaning NCF’s investment will bring them longlasting comfort, Kiraly says.

“Both of these devices provide distraction from pain and anxiety in kids of all ages,” she says. “They support emotional well-being while in hospital and they provide that sense of normalcy.”