PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- There's a wide range of conditions with the patients admitted to The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. The more serious cases are limited when it comes to taking part in activities put on by child life services, until now.
Fun activities at the hospital are usually held in the atrium. For kids who are too sick to attend, there's a new closed circuit TV system that allows them to watch and take part from their room.
According to child life specialist, Bethany Kay, the system was installed in March.
"If you're in you room 100% of the time while you're here, we want to make sure that you're having fun, so if we're having a big event in the atrium we want to make sure that you're able to play," said Kay.
Spending her days in a quarantined room, isn't exactly Arianna Worcester's idea of fun. On Wednesdays, she gets the chance to play hospital bingo thanks to the new TV system.
"It's fun because like when you're in the hospital, you're bored," said Worcester. "It's just something fun to do."
Patients participating in hospital bingo don't just watch from their room, but also take part. Worcester and others are able to use their phones to call in to the atrium if luck is on their side.
"Giving them all those interactions really puts them forward in their care. Just gives them that positive intention," said Kay.
The Portland hospital got the idea to use closed circuit TVs for games and activities from Boston Children's Hospital that already uses a similar TV program.