UIC-STARBRIGHT Project

"STARBRIGHT is dedicated to the creation of projects that empower seriously ill children and teens to address the challenges that accompany prolonged illness -- and give them back their childhoods."

—The STARBRIGHT Foundation Web site, http://www.starbright.org/

Thanks to the efforts of three UIC departments, the Department of Pediatrics, the Academic Computing and Communications Center (ACCC), and UIC Medical Center Information Technology Services (ITS), the children's unit of the UIC Hospital will be able to take full advantage of its participation in a wonderful new program called STARBRIGHT World.

STARBRIGHT World, which has been developed by director Steven Spielberg to improve the quality of life of seriously and chronically ill children requiring extended hospital stays, allows children in one hospital to teleconference with children in other hospitals. The program encourages participation in creative arts and crafts activities, provides entertaining and educational Web sites and videos geared to a wide range of age levels, and gives access to information relating to the children regarding their health care. STARBRIGHT's goal is to present information in a way that is non-threatening and enhances a child's understanding of -- and cooperation with -- their care plan.

UIC will join almost one hundred hospitals across the U.S. and Canada that are participating in the program. Following generous donations from the Oppenheimer Family Foundation and the Cerner Corporation, three mobile computer stations will be set up for use by young patients. In addition, CDW Computer Centers, Inc. has offered an in-kind donation of supplementary electronic goods.

Principal personnel involved in developing the program include Diane Rudall, Assistant to the director of the Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases, who initiated the project at UIC and spearheaded the fund-raising effort; Eileen Robbins, director of development in the UIC Medical Center; and Bernice Woods, director of Child Life in the UIC Hospital Nursing Services.

Plans to bring STARBRIGHT World to UIC were implemented with the support and encouragement of John J. DeNardo, the executive director of the UIC Hospital, and his assistant Bernadette Biskup.

Now, through the good will and collaboration of ITS and the ACCC, access to STARBRIGHT computers has been expanded. At least fifteen patient rooms will be wired to permit a portable computer unit to be wheeled to the bedside of patients who cannot or do not wish to leave their rooms.

The ACCC and ITS personnel responsible for providing the wiring and lines necessary to bring STARBRIGHT World directly into the patient rooms include Dr. Ahmed S. Kassem, UIC CIO and director of the ACCC; Joy Keeler, CIO for Health Affairs; Gustavo Aldaba, ITS telecommunications network specialist; Steven Tschantz, ACCC project manager; Calvin Wright, ITS director of Technology Solutions; Michael B. Smith, ITS research programmer; and Thomas Guetzlaff of ACCC Telecommunications Engineering and Design.

As an inner-city institution serving a diverse patient population, UIC is an ideal place for the STARBRIGHT program, particularly because of the major role UIC plays in meeting the needs of disadvantaged children. The benefits of the program include the following:

• Opportunities to "find a friend" through private computer-network teleconferencing with children in other hospitals across North America, allowing the children to share information and develop friendships.
  
  
• A chance to play wholesome games, participate in arts and crafts, and watch entertaining videos. The network offers more than 700 Web sites and games, all of which have been specially selected for their content and appropriateness.
  
  
• The opportunity to view interactive programs created by STARBRIGHT, which explain particular hospital procedures and illnesses, as well as the chance to "chat" with hospital personnel from other hospitals. Of special interest are animated videos about IVs and medical imaging procedures.

(The information in this article was contributed by Diane Rudall, UIC-STARBRIGHT Project Coordinator.)