For many children, visiting Santa Claus, sitting on his lap, and telling him what they want for Christmas is a highlight of the holiday season. But for a sick, hospitalized child, participating in this tradition can be impossible.
Thanks to Cisco technology and a network of Cisco volunteers, hundreds of hospitalized children in the U.K. and Ireland have a chance to visit with Santa each year – in the most high-tech way possible.
One of eight volunteer Santas in the 2012 Connected Santa program in the U.K. and Ireland
Technology makes all of us smile this holiday season
As we wrap up our holiday time away, I thought it a great time to reflect on the gift we often forget about … spending time with our loved ones and the ability to make each other smile….
These days we constantly talk about how technology in healthcare settings makes us more efficient, more collaborative and more patient-centric. I don’t hear much, however, about how it makes us SMILE. Today I have found the exception: Santa, connecting live via video, to chat with a hospitalized child. Smiles erupt from the child, parent, and staff alike – not to mention Santa himself.
Such is the scene at 15 hospitals across the U.S. the last couple of weeks. As a nurse and caregiver, it touches my heart to know that despite all that medicine and technology offer today, we can’t cure everyone as soon as we would like and some patients and their families will celebrate the holidays surrounded by beeping machines and sterile environments. It is exciting to see the technology we use to care for a child’s illness can be used to boost the spirit as well…
Success stories like this prompt me to think of every increasing ways we can leverage technology to bring better health services – iced with a bit of joy – to our patients in the coming year! Hope it does the same for you!
What are your ideas how technology can be used for multiple purposes? Wishing us all a Happy and Innovative 2012 benefiting society.
They say “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” and we have to agree! From building snowmen to shopping for the perfect presents to spending time with loved ones, nothing beats the Holidays!
We’re here to make it even more special for you with Cisco ūmi. Share all the joys of the season with family and friends in other places right from your living room. Need some examples? We’ll give you 10!
Decorate a gingerbread house – Plan on putting together a gingerbread house with your nieces and nephews or grandkids using Cisco ūmi. Just be sure you don’t eat the pieces before you complete it. We don’t know how stable a house with three walls is.
Compete in a tacky Christmas sweater contest – Get a group of your best friends together and show off your over-the-top Christmas sweaters. You know the ones we’re talking about. They have bells jingling, lights blinking and snowflakes shimmering. While some might find them stylish, others find them gaudy. Read More »
I was thinking about all the supply chain agility issues Santa would have this year – probably the same every year. Like the fact that he has to deliver to hundreds of millions of folks on one particular day of the year.
He’s been doing this for hundreds of years with only one workshop -- not located anywhere near any major distribution routes and with a small but obviously highly productive workforce. Add to this his orders come in only a few weeks before 25th December – some on the 24th! And somehow he hasn’t any carry over stock on the 26th. Miss the 25th and you’ve had it!
Downside of this squeeze is that you can often get that same ol’ pair of socks, that boring polyester tie or that colorful sweater that you’ll never wear. Maybe even a lump of coal if you’re really unlucky. So here’s a message to Santa… Read More »
One of eight volunteer Santas in the 2012 Connected Santa program in the U.K. and Ireland
