For a child, being in a hospital can be a frightening and isolating experience. As the Child Life Specialist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Maureen Jones  knows firsthand how lengthy hospital stays affect children. Being in the hospital, without the technology they are accustomed to, is extremely isolating for children - because they lose their ability to connect with family and friends.

That's why Microsoft Canada and the Children's Miracle Network created the Child Life Interactive Computers for Kids (CLICK) centre at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, ON. The program provides children with wireless bedside internet connections, Tablet PCs, software and Xbox consoles and games. The partnership also provides funding for a Child Life Specialist who teaches the children how to use the technology.

"Without Maureen I'm not sure how things would have turned out," says Anthony Dunn. A car accident left him hospitalized for the entire summer of 2007. It was the same accident that killed his friend.

"It was a real low moment in my life. But, working with Maureen helped turn a negative experience into a positive one. I was able to talk to my friends and family on IM at my bedside. It kept my spirits up during a really difficult time."

Due to the success of the program at CHEO the CLICK program was launched in 2007 at the Centre hospitalier universitaire du Québec's Mother and Child Centre in Québec and at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2009. The CLICK program will be expanded to other children's hospitals across Canada.

Anecdotal research shows that family resource and technology centres in hospitals can play an important part in the recovery process for children by allowing them to connect with family and friends, teachers and classmates. CLICK also helps young patients research their particular treatment or illness, express themselves and their feelings through innovative projects and have fun playing games.

"We are bringing a sense of normalcy to the bedside for these kids. This is a way for them to have day-to-day contact with friends and family outside the hospital and it reduces their sense of isolation," says Maureen.

For more information about the CLICK program at CHEO, click here:

Microsoft Canada, Children's Miracle Network and Premier Dalton McGuinty launch child technology center at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

For more information about the CLICK launch at Centre hospitalier universitaire du Québec, click here:

Microsoft Canada, Children's Miracle Network and Premier Jean Charest launch Mother and Child Technology Centre at the Centre mère-enfant of CHUQ

For more information about the CLICK launch at the IWK Health Centre, click here:

Nova Scotia Premier, Rodney MacDonald, Microsoft Canada, Aliant and CMN launch CLICK technology program at IWK Health Centre

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