RALEIGH, NC – The National Hockey League (NHL), the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), the Carolina Hurricanes and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine and his Companions in Courage charity today unveiled the new, state-of-the-art “NHL Legacy Classroom” at North Carolina Children’s Hospital to commemorate 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend, the League’s midseason spectacular and the first held in Raleigh.
Cisco Systems is the presenting sponsor of the N.C. Children’s Hospital “NHL Legacy Classroom.” The interactive space features Cisco’s online conferencing system, WebEx ( http://www.webex.com ), which allows young patients to connect to family, friends, schools and teachers anywhere in the world during a hospital stay. Patients are also able to connect to other “NHL Legacy Classrooms” through WebEx for a collaborative learning experience during school hours and for fun, interactive games and other activities after school hours.
The NHL All-Star and Carolina Hurricanes-themed “NHL Legacy Classroom” at N.C. Children’s Hospital also features a SMART Board and a SMART Table, tools that stimulate collaboration among students and enable students and teachers to connect to other schools or “classrooms” via the room’s video conferencing capabilities. The SMART Board and SMART Table were provided by SMART Technologies.
“We know this All-Star celebration marks a memorable moment for the people in the Triangle, the Carolina Hurricanes and National Hockey League, and we want those memories to endure — which is why we are delighted to join Pat LaFontaine and the Companions in Courage Foundation in creating an NHL/NHLPA All-Star Legacy Classroom for North Carolina Children’s Hospital,” said Commissioner Bettman.
“The NHL and Cisco Systems have partnered with us for another memorable All Star legacy gift to children from all across North Carolina. NHL Legacy Rooms in Montreal and Boston have already made a tremendous difference in the lives of those patients and their families,” said LaFontaine. “We are so proud to be working with the NHL and its partners to connect the patients at N.C. Children’s Hospital to their schools, friends and heroes for years to come.”
“I am very proud to support this ‘NHL Legacy Classroom,’ which is a wonderful addition to N.C. Children’s Hospital. As players, we try our best to give back to the areas in which we live in, and this continues the tradition of players making an impact in the communities that have hosted All-Star Weekend,” said Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes All-Star goaltender and NHLPA member, who was also on hand for today’s unveiling.
”As the state’s children’s hospital, we are incredibly grateful the NHL chose North Carolina Children’s Hospital as home for this ‘NHL Legacy Classroom,’” said chief physician, Dr. Alan Stiles. “That it is the first-ever ‘NHL Legacy Classroom’ is quite a distinction. But more than that, the room is meaningful for the impact it will have on our patients, who come from all 100 counties throughout the state. Keeping them more connected to family, home and peers, often hours away the hospital, will be invaluable.”
The Legacy Rooms were originally founded by the Companions in Courage Foundation and LaFontaine. The Foundation has now opened 11 Lion’s Den rooms throughout North America, including two with the National Hockey League in Montreal and Boston. Plans for an “NHL Legacy Classroom” in Pittsburgh were unveiled during the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to commemorate the outdoor game.
In partnership with Companions in Courage, supporting sponsor Frozen Flashback, a charitable organization commemorating the “greatest game never played” (the 1989 match-up between New Jersey’s St. Joseph Regional High School and Delbarton School ice hockey teams), also contributed to the “NHL Legacy Classroom” at N.C. Children’s Hospital.
About North Carolina Children’s Hospital North Carolina Children’s Hospital protects the health and well-being of North Carolina’s 2.1 million children by aligning premier health care practitioners, world-class medical education, and innovative, interdisciplinary research to provide the highest-quality, family-centered care, regardless of their families’ abilities to pay. As a major referral center for children with complex or chronic conditions, N.C. Children’s Hospital works hand-in-hand with community hospitals and pediatricians across the state, providing specialty care to more than 70,000 children from all 100 counties each year.
N.C. Children’s Hospital offers complete pediatric inpatient and outpatient care in its 140-bed state-of-the-art facility at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and at more than 25 satellite outpatient clinics throughout North Carolina. The Children’s Hospital’s world-class physicians, nurses and other clinical staff represent all pediatric subspecialties and are capable of treating children with virtually any disease or disorder. For more information, visit www.ncchildrenshospital.org .
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