PC Pal® Laptops Keep Pediatric Patients Connected  

Hospitalization is an extremely isolating experience for seriously ill children and teens. It's hard for them to keep in touch with family and friends, and to keep up with schoolwork. PC Pal® latops, provide a high-tech solution to the loneliness and fear that often accompany a hospital stay.

That’s why Starlight created PC Pals -- durable, mobile and secure laptops designed specifically to meet the unique needs of pediatric patients ages 5 to 18. PC Pals combat loneliness and boredom by allowing kids to connect with other kids, entertain themselves and keep up with school work. Wired for Internet connectivity, PC Pals offer email and chat programs that children use to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Each laptop also provides direct access to Starbright World, our private social network built to provide seriously ill teens with a support network and critically important sense of belonging. In addition, young patients can better manage school assignments using the email, online research tools and bedside tutoring opportunities that PC Pals enable.

More than a powerful communication tool, each PC Pal comes pre-installed with Starlight’s medical education and disease management programs. Used by hundreds of thousands of sick children each year, our programs provide medical information in a fun, engaging manner and empower children to better manage and cope with their medical conditions and confidently interact with medical professionals. PC Pals also include third party games and age-appropriate learning software.

A Direct and Profound Impact
Lauded by health professionals, child life specialists, and pediatric patients, PC Pals make a real difference in a sick child’s life. Research on similar programs has demonstrated that, more than providing communication, education and entertainment tools, computer access can be instrumental in reducing the isolation, hopelessness and dejection that hospitalized children often feel. PC Pals raise children’s spirits and distract them from their pain.

In High Demand by Hospitals
Although hospitals agree there is great potential benefit to having computers available for patients, 50 percent of the more than 1,000 hospitals with which we work regularly report they have no computers available for patient use. The need is enormous — thousands of children are served by the hospitals on the PC Pal waiting list. Each PC Pal will positively impact an estimated 1,800 children over a year’s time.

Sponsorship Information
Starlight seeks individual, group or corporate sponsorships to respond to the critical needs of pediatric patients by placing PC Pals in local hospitals.  Demand for PC Pals is strong and the need is enormous — thousands of children nationwide are served by the hospitals on the PC Pal waiting list. On average, each PC Pal is in use by pediatric patients nearly 24 hours a day and used by 1,800 children per year. Once a child is given the opportunity to enjoy a PC Pal, he or she typically continues to use it for as long as allowed — sometimes for up to nine hours. This level of usage provides significant visibility for our sponsors among children, their families and hospital staff.

The $5,000 sponsorship cost includes:

• Business-class technology: PC Pals are built using the most rugged business-class laptops available.
• Extended warranty: Every unit comes with a three-year, accident protection warranty that covers dropping and spilling as well as typical hardware failures.
• Software for all ages and interests: PC Pals come pre-loaded with more than 50 software programs appropriate for children of all ages.  Programs include Starlight’s interactive educational games, access to Starlight's Starbright World online social network, and third-party games and learning software.
• Stringent infection control measures.
• State-of-the-art security features: A security cable connects the laptop to its case at all times, and a second cable can be used to connect the case to the hospital bed.  Additionally, a STOP Plate security bar code uniquely registers all computers and a Web-based administration tools allows a PC Pal’s location to be tracked.
• World technical support: Tech support and training are centrally managed by dedicated staff, minimizing downtime if a problem occurs.  A replacement PC Pal is shipped within five days if tech support can’t resolve the problem. Sponsors and donors can rest assured that their PC Pals will never sit broken and unused.
  
• Potential publicity generated by the dedication event.
• The inclusion of the sponsor's name or company logo on the desktop at all times.
• The comfort of knowing the gift will have a lasting impact.
  

Add Me to the PC Pal Wait List!

Starlight is excited to announce that we have created one universal waiver for both Fun Centers and PC Pals. The waiver needs to be signed by each participating hospital only one time. After the waiver is signed, hospitals will not need to fill out a new waiver for subsequent Fun Centers or PC Pals!

If you work at a hospital or medical facility that would like to be added to the PC Pal wait list, you must submit a signed universal waiver. Waivers can be sent to Starlight by fax (Attn: Kelly Duda, 617-241-0066) or mail (Attn: Kelly Duda, Starlight Children's Foundation, PC Pal Request Processing Center, 529 Main Street, Suite 608, Charlestown, MA 02129).  Once the universal waiver has been submitted, hospitals should complete the application form to be added to the wait list. Hospitals will not be added to the wait list unless we have a signed universal waiver on file.

*Since we are recreating our wait list with this new requirement, EVERYONE must reapply to be on the wait list. We are hoping that this will help to streamline the placement process when a sponsor is identified.

Sponsorship

To view our current PC Pal wait list, click here.

Your sponsorship can help Starlight bring PC Pals to hospitals in communities all over the United States and Canada!

For more information on sponsoring PC Pals, call us at 310-479-1212 or email info@starlight.org.