This week Western Health welcomed some very special visitors – two Captain Starlights from the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
The captains visited Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Sunshine Hospital Paediatric Emergency Department, singing and telling jokes, and brightening up the day for hospitalised kids.
The captains were launching their new virtual platform Planet Starlight, an innovative and interactive virtual platform designed to deliver engaging, positive distraction for sick kids in every hospital in Australia anywhere, anytime at the click of a button.
Free to register and easily accessible from an internet-enabled device, Planet Starlight features daily, interactive livestreams uniquely shaped by the participation of the kids watching and hosted by Starlight’s superhero of fun, Captain Starlight. Hospitalised kids lead the play, participating in challenges, quizzes and can even share their creations in a virtual art gallery.
Divisional director Women’s and Children’s Services at Joan Kirner, Wendy Watson said “this service will be an amazing resource for the children in our care”.
“Being able to interact with Captain Starlight on the platform through live shows by sending in dares, jokes and answering quiz questions will really help cheer up kids who are sick, and in an unfamiliar environment. We’re really happy to support this great initiative, and would like to sincerely thank the Starlight Foundation for making it available to us.”
Planet Starlight has been rolled out to patients in 19 metro and regional hospitals across Australia since its launch in November, with another 20 nationwide planned by June 2023.
