Nintendo Partners With Nonprofit To Bring Gaming Consoles For Kids At Hospitals

• Nintendo of America and Starlight Children’s Foundation are bringing Nintendo Switch games to hospital rooms.
• The project aims to help ill children deal with boredom while “creating moments of joy” for them and their families.
• Healthcare workers are praising the project, describing the gaming stations as “important distraction tools.”

Getting confined in a hospital for days can be a challenge, especially for children. It takes them out of their comfort zones and leaves them with plenty of hours without much activities so things can be really boring.

So it’s definitely a wonderful thing that Nintendo of America is collaborating with nonprofit organization Starlight Children’s Foundation to help beat the boredom among seriously ill kids – by bringing them Nintendo Switch games to play while at the hospital.

So far, the project has been gaining a lot of positive feedback.

Texi Little of Christus Shreveport-Bossier Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, said:

“Starlight Gaming has been a great aid in helping patients cope with hospitalization.

“We cannot thank Starlight enough for impacting the lives of our patients, families, and staff members on a daily basis.”

Since launching the project, Starlight has been bringing gaming stations to different hospitals to “create moments of joy and comfort for hospitalized kids and their families.”

The system offers over 25 games including Super Mario Party and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, among others.

Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital child life supervisor Julie Hertzog pointed out:

“The gaming stations are important distraction tools that normalize the health care environment and help kids through difficult experiences. They provide choices for kids, motivate them, and give them the opportunity to have fun when it is needed most.”

According to a post on the Starlight site, their partnership “has delivered 7,200 Starlight Nintendo Gaming stations to over 800 hospitals and healthcare facilities all over the country.”

Go check out Starlight’s official website for additional information about the program.