Batson Hospital for Children Unveils Newest 
Starlight Fun Center*

Pictured above: Diane Buble and young boy who will benenfit from Fun center


Children undergoing treatment at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children at the University of Mississippi Medical Center will be smiling and laughing a little more thanks to a multimedia fun center generously donated by Bubel/Aiken Foundation, and with the help of Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation and Nintendo of America. The fun center will be unveiled officially at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 26, 2005. Members of the Bubel/Aiken Foundation and Starlight Starbright will be on hand to see the fun center in action and tour Mississippi's only children's hospital. 
 
 

The state-of-the-art fun center is specially designed to go to kids wherever they are in the hospital. In addition to the obvious use for entertainment, hospital staff continuously report that the units are being used for such benefits as post-op pain management, distraction during dialysis and chemotherapy sessions, and as a tool to diminish anxiety accompanying hospital admittance. The hospital's newest unit is being utilized in the Batson Hospital's new pediatric surgical center. 
 
 

“The Bubel/Aiken Foundation is happy to provide a Fun Center to Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children,” said Clay Aiken. “Playtime is integral to childhood and we’re pleased to be able to contribute an element of fun into the hospital environment.” 
 
 

The Bubel/ Aiken Foundation provides grants, services and inclusive programs to children with special needs. Aiken, a former special education teacher and mentor, founded TBAF in 2003 with Diane Bubel, a parent and disability activist whose son Mike has autism. To learn more about the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, visit the website at www.thebubelaikenfoundation.org 
 
 

Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of seriously ill children and their families. Working with more than 850 hospitals worldwide, the foundation provides an impressive menu of programs and services. A leader in delivering distractive entertainment therapies, over 180,000 children benefit from Starlight Starbright’s programs each month. Their website is www.slsb.org. 
 
 

The Batson Hospital is the state's only children's hospital. More than 9,000 pediatric patients are admitted each year and more than 80,000 youngsters are treated annually in the hospital, its clinics, the UMC pediatric emergency room and the Mississippi Children’s Cancer Clinic. UMC is the only site in the state to offer comprehensive treatment for pediatric illnesses such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart defects and epilepsy and has the state’s highest rated trauma center and neonatal intensive care unit. The Batson Hospital website can be found at www.umc.edu/childhosp.html. 

*The money for the FunCenter was collected and donated by The Clayboard with help from the Claydream Believers board.