JACKSONVILLE, FL - When children are admitted to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, they will be entering a colorful, high-tech environment which includes an activity area designed to provide a pleasant diversion from a hospital room.
Through a partnership with Hockey Hall-of-Famer Pat LaFontaine's Companions in Courage Foundation, DuPont donated colorful sheets of DuPont™ Corian® to help make possible the construction of the Lion's Den—a state-of-the-art activity room for children and teens—at the only full-service tertiary hospital for children in Northeast Florida. The hospital's Lion's Den is custom-designed to offer a modern-day oasis to help ease a child's stay. To help achieve the room's cheerful signature look, each of the brightly colored panels, chairs and tables are made entirely from Corian solid surfaces.
"We're dedicated to helping the community in a meaningful way," says Thomas F. Schuler, vice president and general manager, DuPont Building Innovations. "With Corian, we not only add a splash of color to the children's environment, but due to its easy-to-clean, seamless surface, it also helps hospital staff with infection control, ultimately bettering the care these kids receive."
The Lion's Den in the Wolfson Children's Hospital is one of six nationwide. Outfitted with flat screen TVs, Microsoft® Xbox 360 video games, video teleconferencing, and internet-ready computers, the rooms provide outlets for children to connect and play with children at other Lion's Dens, and to chat with loved ones, teachers and friends across the country. In addition, kids have the chance to meet national celebrities and sports heroes via videoconferencing arranged by the Companions in Courage Foundation.
"These one-of-a-kind rooms are intended to stimulate hospitalized children and connect them with family, friends and celebrities," says LaFontaine. "By introducing technology into the healing process and using innovative materials like Corian, we are able to provide these children with a colorful place where they can behave and play like normal, healthy kids."
Nonporous Corian is a high-performing, easy-to-maintain solid surface material that when kept clean, does not support the growth of mold or mildew. Scratches are easily removed without marring its beauty and uniformity of color. Corian can be thermoformed into custom shapes and contours, sandblasted, routed, carved, laser-etched and backlit, making it ideal for a wide range of healthcare, residential, commercial, furniture, and specialty applications. Additionally, Corian meets all 18 preferred characteristics of the ideal surfacing product to help facilitate infection control as defined in the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, including being seamless, impact resistant and having low VOC/no offgassing.
The Companions in Courage Foundation was founded by NHL Hall-of-Famer Pat LaFontaine as a response to the inspiration he derived while visiting children in hospitals during his 15-year career. His immediate goal is to build interactive playrooms in children's hospitals throughout North America. Through innovative communications tools, these playrooms mitigate the isolation of a hospital by providing ways to connect to family, friends and celebrities during a child's hospital stay. For more information, visit www.CiC16.org.
DuPont Surfaces and DuPont Building Innovations are strategic business units of DuPont that manufacture and market Corian solid surfaces and Zodiaq® quartz surfaces. DuPont Corian is a well-known global brand in the solid surface category. More information is available at surfaces.dupont.com by calling (800) 436-6072.
