Av Integration At Children’s Hospital Makes Patients The Stars Of The Show

Renovated rooms at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of MN now feature HD flatpanels, on-demand entertainment, and a secure WiFi network.

He knew it was time for an upgrade. And so did the kids. Jeff Weness, The Foundation of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of MN, director of corporate development, said that “[the hospital’s AV technology] was installed 25 years ago. You could be at the hospital for months watching 13-inch CRT TV, and old VCRs.”

The hospital, located in Minneapolis, MN, is the seventh largest pediatric health facility in the U.S., but the in-room AV was obsolete.

So when the hospital wanted to renovate its interior and transform bigger “ward” spaces into private rooms, Weness jumped at the chance to upgrade the entertainment technology and deliver the magic of movies and music with high-def solutions.

MUSIC MATTERS
Children’s Hospital has a Youth Advisory Counsel-Frequent Flyers-as Weness called them. Once a month this counsel of 12- to 17-year-olds meet and discuss issues important to them. After one meeting, the vote was unanimous; it was time for a redesign, update, and upgrade of the hospital’s entertainment offerings.

The Counsel agreed on a room design: “a hospital bed surrounded by electronics,” Weness joked.

The staff had to guarantee that all of the audiovisual equipment was hospital-grade.

But that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

Each room was designed to be a high-tech emporium—outfitted with a WiFi network, 42-inch high-definition flat screen TVS, XBoxs that doubled as a DVD players, with movies and music fed by Lodgnet Rx, an ondemand entertainment system specially designed for the hospital setting.

Milestone AV, another Minnesota business, donated $50,000 worth of mounts and accessories to securely support the AV gear, and keep the electronics out of harm’s way.

CHALLENGES AND REWARDS
As Weness explained, while the hospital was world renowned for its medical innovation, AV was a different kind of challenge.

“This project posed an interesting challenge,” he said, “because we, like most hospitals, are very good at medical technology, but not so good at hooking up an Xbox!”

Best Buy came to the rescue, and offered room design, AV integration schematics, architecture consultation, and ultimately the system integration. “Best Buy knows how kids use technology and how adults use technology.”

Understanding how kids relate to AV is critical, Weness continued. “Kids don’t know life without the Internet or DVR. If they want to watch a cartoon, they just expect instant access. We also wanted to build a system that was future proof, so we included HDMI.”

Hospital-grade and high-definition

The Lodgenet system and WiFi network let kids bring in their own products—the modern day equivalent of stuffed animals— and plug in.

Another design challenge for the Children’s team and integrators was guaranteeing that the patients had prime viewing access from the bed, but that parents could also enjoy the show from chairs on the perimeter of the room. Milestone AV answered that concern with articulation, tilt, and swivel mounts; every viewing angle was considered.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DESIGN
For many “frequent flyers,” the home and hospital are the same thing. The comfort and convenience of in-room AV and WiFi not only takes their mind off of medical treatments, but also helps the kids feel connected to their friends, school, and the world. “The technology helps put the kids back in control.”

In each room, there were myriad challenges, but integrators and hospital staff worked diligently for more than 18 months to transform the space into a place kids want to be. Now the cutting-edge AV makes the patients at Children’s feel right at home.

Margot Douaihy is the managing editor of AV Technology magazine.