In pediatric hospitals, incessant beeping and harsh fluorescent lights are often inescapable.
But in some of these hospitals, video games are helping to create a more hospitable (and fun) healing environment for the children who are staying there.
The nonprofit was founded in 2003 by authors of the online comic strip Penny Arcade as a response to an article comparing video games to “murder simulators.” Since its launch, the nonprofit has provided over 180 hospitals with video games.
Donations can be made in one of two ways: By clicking on a hospital via a wishlist on its online network and sending a gift, or by sending cash donations.
To learn more about how Child’s Play helps children, watch the above video.
More: Doctors Could Start Prescribing Video Games Instead of Pills
Tag: Children’s Hospital
A 130-Year-Old Hospital Has a Bold Idea—And It’s Making Children Better
Hamilton County, Ohio, is home to Cincinnati and 413 sprawling square miles of diversity and disparity. The county hosts mansions as well as median incomes below the poverty line. But it’s not just about paychecks. The county has a health disparity problem and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is dedicated to solving it. Hospital leaders have made it their mission to look beyond children’s medical care to improve children’s overall health. Asthma is a key issue: kids in poorer areas are 88 times more likely to be admitted for emergency treatment. After investing some time in home visits to investigate the causes, hospital staff found that poor housing quality, cockroach infestation, and water damage were behind many of these health emergencies. And because many families in the county are living without Medicaid, Dr. Mona Mansour, along with other physicians, built a new system of care to help all area kids. They’ve partnered with the Cincinnati Health Department to organize home inspections and build connections to legal aid so families get support in dealing with their landlords. The 130-year-old hospital is proving to be an incredible modern leader in health innovation.