THE LION'S DEN OPENS AT MARIA FARERI
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT WESTCHESTER MEDICAL
CENTER
Sports, Business and Design Stars Contribute
to State-of-the Art Playroom for Kids
(January 28, 2005-Valhalla, NY) Maria Fareri
Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical
Center today formally opened its Companions In
Courage Lion's Den, an interactive computer and
video game room that provides a sanctuary where
children can go to escape the pressures of being
in a hospital with serious illnesses or
injuries. This new resource goes hand in hand
with the Hospital's mission of creating a
child-friendly, healing environment through
exciting interactive activities supplementing
the excellent medical care.
NHL Hall of Fame Player Pat LaFontaine, through
his charitable organization, Companions In
Courage (www.companions-in-courage.org), built
the room with the help of George Ross from TV's
The Apprentice, his wife Billie, and Microsoft
Corporation. This Lion's Den is the first of
dozens of playrooms Companions In Courage hopes
to build across North America.
The room was designed by Edwin Schlossberg's ESI
Design of New York as an immersive environment
to foster healing. The room resembles an igloo,
with translucent screens hanging on the walls
and lighting that changes colors. The main
attractions are several XBOX video games,
personal computers and a large monitor with
video conference capability. These features will
make it possible for children to communicate
with friends, family, schoolmates and
celebrities anywhere in the world using routing,
switching and wireless technology funded through
a grant from Cisco Systems. Full Armor (www.fullarmor.com)
has donated the GPAnywhere software product that
works with Microsoft Windows group policy
technology to protect children by restricting
access to selective web sites, and also
enforcing the computer's security configuration.
Pat LaFontaine, founder of Companions In Courage
said, "I established Companions In Courage as a
way to help children feel more comfortable
during a very difficult time of their lives. To
see these kids, who carry a heavy load
sometimes, forget for a moment about their
illness is true magic. I can't thank Billie and
George, Edwin, Brian Valentine of Microsoft,
John and Brenda Fareri and countless others
enough for there help in making this facility
possible." Microsoft and Full Armor have
invested a lot of time and energy deploying the
technologies in the room. It's all working
fantastically and the kids are already having
fun.
Mary Brown, Interim President and CEO of
Westchester Medical Center said, "This
incredible facility is the result of the hard
work and tireless dedication of some very
generous individuals. Pat's vision, Mr. and Mrs.
Ross's donation, Edwin Schlossberg's design and
the generosity of Microsoft and its partners
have all made today possible. On behalf of the
Hospital, staff and patients I want to say thank
you.
George Ross from The Apprentice, along with his
wife Billie, made a substantial donation to
build this cutting-edge, high-tech room. Mr.
Ross said, "This is a great moment for Billie
and me as well as our entire family. We're proud
to have worked with such a fine group of
individuals on this very worthy project. The
reward of seeing children enjoy this space will
last us a lifetime."
"We feel privileged to be a part of this," said
Brian Valentine, Senior Vice President of
Microsoft's Windows Core Operating System
Division. "Pat has a great vision, and we've
supported him over the past four years to help
make it real. Along the way a lot of our
technology partners have jumped in as well - APC,
Commvault Systems, EMC, Full Armor, HP, NetIQ,
XIOTech. It's been a community effort and seeing
the first room open is a great feeling for all
of us."
Dr. Michael Gewitz, Executive Director/
Physician-In-Chief of Maria Fareri Children's
Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, said
"It's very important that children who are in
the hospital have a place where they can go to
just be kids. The CIC room is a place off-limits
to adults. Here our patients can communicate
with their heroes or children in other hospitals
and be themselves. We're honored the CIC
foundation chose Maria Fareri Children's
Hospital for this exciting and unique project"
Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester
Medical Center opened in September 2004, moving
the Medical Center's renowned pediatric services
into a child and family friendly building with
state-of-the-art medical facilities. The
Children's Hospital is home to the region's
highest-level neonatal intensive care unit, the
region's only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,
pediatric cardiology and heart surgery program,
pediatric inpatient and outpatient oncology
center and pediatric Ambulatory Surgery Center.
Each year more than 20,000 children from the
region and beyond benefit from the
all-specialty, advanced-level services offered
at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at
Westchester Medical Center.
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