Making Your Hospital Stay A Bit More Pleasant: Flat-Screen, Internet, Movies

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the sounds-lovely dept

Hospitals aren’t known for having the most accommodating conditions around, but some are trying. Apparently a hospital in New Jersey (of all places) is offering up a special interactive entertainment service to certain patients. The rooms that have the system include a 37-inch flat panel display and a wireless keyboard. The system has internet access and television with certain programming on-demand with TiVo-like features. The hospital says they’re trying to make the hospital stay more relaxing for patients and “less clinical.” Using the system isn’t free, but it’s not that expensive either – though pricing depends on the specific institution. The main one described in the article offers internet access for $7.50/day (and if you’re just stuck in bed all day, why not pay the $7.50 just to kill the boredom) or $10.50 for a package of four movies that can be viewed over a 24 hour-period (that’s a lot of movies for one day). They say the system could also be upgraded to allow video gaming and the ability to order food from the cafeteria. At this rate, they’re going to have a lot of patients who never want to go home again.