Windsor nonprofit CRIS Radio has expanded its media “infotainment” services to patients at Hartford’s Connecticut Children’s Medical Center – the first of its kind in the nation, authorities say.
CRISKids, in partnership with Comcast, offers audio versions of articles published in nearly 20 award-winning children’s magazines streamed through the hospital’s in-house TV system, officials say.
CRIS Chairman William H. Austin said in a statement that Connecticut Children’s is America’s first children’s hospital to provide an alternative to printed magazines with audio recordings for patients unable to read or turn pages due to their condition or medical treatment.
Children’s Medical President/CEO Martin J. Gavin said such educational entertainment “is an extremely valuable offering and can be a helpful component of the healing process.”
CRISKids first launched in December 2011 to aid hearing- and vision-impaired youths in homes and schools.
Comcast provided technical assistance and a donation of special equipment necessary for the project. Other funders of the project include the Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust, and the Ahearn Family Foundation.
CRIS Radio records more than 70 newspapers and magazines to provide audio access to printed material for people who are blind and print-handicapped. The audio recordings can be heard with a special CRIS radio, toll-free through the CRIS Telephone Reader, online streaming live or on-demand at the CRIS Radio website, www.crisradio.org, or with any mobile device, including tablets or smartphones.
