One of the most important parts of the holiday season for many children is getting a chance to chat with Santa Claus and tell him what they want for Christmas. It’s a time when it seems like anything is possible, which can be especially uplifting for children that are going through hard times.
Unfortunately, for kids who are going through medical difficulties, it’s hard to travel to the mall or other places to meet with Santa. Thanks to modern technology, however, hospitalized children don’t have to hop on a plane to visit with Santa Claus at the North Pole.
Nemours Children’s Health System has decided to use their CareConnect telemedicine service to connect hospitalized children with Santa himself. The telemedicine service allows for face to face conversations between the kids and Santa, who will be chatting with the kids live from the “North Pole.”
The service will be available to cheer up and brighten the holidays of kids at Nemours’ hospitals in both Orlando, Florida, and Delaware. Meanwhile, Santa’s elves will actually travel to the hospitals to help manage the video chats and make sure everything toes smoothly.
“Being hospitalized at this time of year can leave kids feeling left out of the holiday season,” said Carey Officer, operational vice president of Nemours CareConnect and Center for Health Delivery Innovation. “Santa’s virtual visits from the North Pole offer these kids a fun and special experience.”
The kids have already said that they love the chance to video chat with Santa, making the program a big success.
“I wasn’t expecting this visit at all,” said Rebecca Merrifield, who is the parent of a patient at Nemours Children’s Hospital. “It’s nice to get a little surprise for the children. When we come to the hospital, he can be a little down, but to get lifted up a little bit from a simple virtual call from Santa, is just awesome.”