ANN ARBOR, Mich. Its no secret that Pokemon Go seems to be taking over the world these days, but one childrens hospital is using the game to help its patients feel at home in theirs.
The hallways at C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital in Michigan have been a little busier over the past few weeks. Thats because there are Pokemon to be caught, and doctors and staff are committed to helping their resident Pokemon trainers their patients catch them all.
"I think one of the unique things about the game itself is that you can totally enter a new world, but still see yourself," hospital rehabilitation engineer Jamie Mayo told Today. "It really normalizes the hospital experience for these kids. It distracts them from painful procedures and lets them escape from what may be a scary environment to them."
Motts digital media manager J.J. Bouchard is always looking for new, therapeutic technology that can benefit and soothe the children being treated at the hospital. So when Pokemon Go which encourages users to walk around and work together to catch digital creatures made its big debut, Bouchard couldnt wait to pitch it to the rest of the staff.
Turns out, he didnt even have to use his pitch.
"As soon as I came in I had 20 emails saying, 'Have you seen this game? This is great,'" he told Today. "It was really exciting to see the entire staff embrace it, so then we moved forward with educating everyone, outlining safety guidelines and establishing our own protocol."
Mayo says the Pokemon phenomenon has allowed patients and their parents to be more engaged with the outside world, which is important since their world is often confined to the walls of the hospital.
"They're all hearing about the game from their friends at home, and now they feel like this is something they can participate in, too," she told Today.
The staff is getting in on the virtual fun as well manning some of the special Poke Stops that have been set up around the hospital. Many have posted photos on social media with patients and their Pokemon friends.
"In the past, we've used augmented reality children's books and video games, but we've never had this type of widespread reaction. It's so exciting," Bouchard told Today. Any time you can find a way to bring in technology to distract from uncomfortable situations is a good thing,"
The hallways at C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital in Michigan have been a little busier over the past few weeks. Thats because there are Pokemon to be caught, and doctors and staff are committed to helping their resident Pokemon trainers their patients catch them all.
"I think one of the unique things about the game itself is that you can totally enter a new world, but still see yourself," hospital rehabilitation engineer Jamie Mayo told Today. "It really normalizes the hospital experience for these kids. It distracts them from painful procedures and lets them escape from what may be a scary environment to them."
Motts digital media manager J.J. Bouchard is always looking for new, therapeutic technology that can benefit and soothe the children being treated at the hospital. So when Pokemon Go which encourages users to walk around and work together to catch digital creatures made its big debut, Bouchard couldnt wait to pitch it to the rest of the staff.
Turns out, he didnt even have to use his pitch.
"As soon as I came in I had 20 emails saying, 'Have you seen this game? This is great,'" he told Today. "It was really exciting to see the entire staff embrace it, so then we moved forward with educating everyone, outlining safety guidelines and establishing our own protocol."
Mayo says the Pokemon phenomenon has allowed patients and their parents to be more engaged with the outside world, which is important since their world is often confined to the walls of the hospital.
"They're all hearing about the game from their friends at home, and now they feel like this is something they can participate in, too," she told Today.
The staff is getting in on the virtual fun as well manning some of the special Poke Stops that have been set up around the hospital. Many have posted photos on social media with patients and their Pokemon friends.
"In the past, we've used augmented reality children's books and video games, but we've never had this type of widespread reaction. It's so exciting," Bouchard told Today. Any time you can find a way to bring in technology to distract from uncomfortable situations is a good thing,"