Child's Play

Luca knows his way around the inside of a hospital all too well. He was born with multiple complex medical conditions including Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. In Luca’s 13 years, he has had over 39 surgeries. Luca receives his care at Seattle Children's and each year the family averages over 100 hospital appointments. While Luca may have been in the hospital for an outpatient procedure earlier in the day that didn't stop him from experiencing IGN Entertainment Live in a whole new way, thanks to technological advances like the Ohmni Bot from OhmniLabs Child’s Play can offer patients the opportunity to be front and center at gaming conventions across the country. Sarah, Luca’s mom, loves seeing the patient gaming technology specialists walk through his hospital room door because she knows Luca is about to have some fun. “Gaming has helped Luca through difficult times even if he is in pain or unhappy. Through playing games with the Gaming Specialists he worked through the loss of ability in his right hand. Seeing him do that through gaming was awesome.” Luca's mom joined him as he followed the link to appear live through the OhmniBot at IGN. The Pink Carpet was all smiles as the IGN team and Child’s Play stopped for a photo op with Luca to commemorate the experience. It was onto the main stage and gaming hall for photo ops with D.Va, where we saw some of the new games hitting the market. No convention is complete without swag and Luca received a ton. While he could see it on screen it is currently en route to his home in Seattle. While Luca's hospital stays and visits are not always as lively as IGN Live you can be sure he is gaming to get him through his hospital stay. Luca is on a first-name basis with the Patient Gaming Technology Specialists at Seattle Children's. Both positions were started and funded by Child’s Play from 2018 - 2022. Now more than 50 game techs hold positions across the US, Canada, Kenya, and Australia. Child’s Play believes in the #PowerOfPlay and helping change the #PatientExperience. As the official charity of IGN Live the team was grateful to provide this unique experience to patients and families of our network hospital. Thank you to Jeffrey Vega for surely being the host with the most taking Luca and his mom on an incredible adventure through #IGNLive.

Interested in submitting a presentation to our Annual Pediatric Gaming and Technology Symposium? Come join a virtual gathering of organizations and individuals discussing best practices and what’s next in the rapidly growing fields of gaming technology and extended realities within the realm of pediatric healthcare. Whether you're part of a thriving, active, advanced gaming technology program, or interested in integrating more gaming and technology in your role, this symposium is for you. Meaningful discussions on adaptability, technology integration, new and emerging tools, and an interactive vendor networking space will be offered. If you would like to submit a presentation please complete the Symposium Presentation Submission form below. Submissions are due by June 21, 2024. https://lnkd.in/gHRfwXHr #GamersGiveBack #PlayGamesFeelBetter #GamingTechnology

We are excited to share that Child’s Play has funded 3 new Gaming Technology Specialist positions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and Atrium Health Levine Children's! Gaming Technology Specialists engage with patients through therapeutic gaming at the bedside. In addition, they help educate clinicians on the importance of gaming as a tool for patient distraction and coping. Virtual reality, augmented reality, and traditional gaming get patients out of bed and moving daily while hospitalized. Child’s Play is at the forefront of growing this new and impactful field of work inside children’s hospitals. Here are a couple of the job postings: https://lnkd.in/gA8SV6Hf https://lnkd.in/gCMWdvcw #PlayGamesFeelBetter #GamersGiveBack #GamingTechnology

Guess what? Child's Play Charity and Children's Hospital Colorado are thrilled to announce that, thanks to The Anthem Awards (International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences), we've snagged a Bronze Anthem Award for our awesome project, Reality Paws! A massive shoutout to everyone who donated to Child’s Play. Your generosity made this project possible! We were able to fund the first-ever game developer inside a children’s hospital, which turned out to be a pretty groundbreaking move. Huge props to the XRP team Abraham Homer, Joe Albietz, Carla Barrentine, Breawn Schoun, Chris Coleman, Kevin McFarlane, Jennifer Staab and Austin Harvey at Colorado Children’s for making magic happen for patients and families! Curious about how your donations are making a difference? Check out this video to see the incredible impact of your support. Get ready to be amazed by the dedication and creativity that's helping us meet patients right where they are on their health journey. Go ahead, give it a watch!