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Children's Hospital Gets Multimedia Makeover

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- 16-year-old Tori Chapple of Scott Township suffers from epilepsy. She's in and out of Children's Hospital quite a bit.

During stays, volunteers help to keep her busy with games like UNO.

But, even more than card games, Tori loves movies and gaming. So, she was thrilled to find out a brand new Xbox was being installed in her room on the Gastrointestinal and Pulmonary units.

"It's fun, I watch my movies on a big screen," she said.

The entire unit is getting all sorts of new electronics: over 40 Xbox consoles with extra controllers, more than 300 games and movies, tablets for skyping and working on homework, plus digital cameras and more.

Child Life Assistant Nikole Speshok-McConnell said it makes a huge difference.

"The kids love it, they have someone knocking on their door saying 'do you mind if we install an Xbox to your room', you can imagine how their faces light up, parents get excited, and staff gets excited too," she said.

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The $30,000 multimedia makeover was made possible by Make Room For Kids, which is affiliated with the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The program is in its seventh year.

"We have all of these great donors who give to this project, so just to see the fruits of their labor is wonderful and the kids are so happy," Mario Lemieux Foundation representative Nancy Angus said.

Similar technology upgrades have taken place on several floors of the hospital. So far, more than 250 gaming systems have been installed since the project started.

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