It's an unfortunate reality: For many children, a hospital stay can feel like an endless stretch of time with little to distinguish one day from the next. They might be confined to their room or have mobility limitations. It's hard to feel like a regular kid when you can't run outside and play with friends.
This is a challenge that Michal Warchol helps solve. He's an advanced patient media specialist with CHOP's Patient Media and Events Program.
As part of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, the Patient Media and Events team uses a state-of-the-art multimedia broadcast studio to create programs for CHOP's 24/7 TV channel, which is accessible from the televisions in each patient room. The programming has four goals: to be therapeutic (helping kids cope), educational, interactive and entertaining.
The live programming airs every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Patients have multiple opportunities to engage with live shows. If they visit the studio in person, they can interact as an audience member, help host, work equipment or create their very own shows. Those watching from their room can call in to answer trivia questions or give feedback. Once the live shows are done, the rest of the day features pre-recorded programs so that patients can tune into CHOP's TV network at any hour to be entertained. Warchol's job is to make sure this nonstop programming runs smoothly. This is a day in his life.
7:30 a.m. Wakes up and gets ready for work.
8:30 a.m. Catches the train from his home in Delaware County.
9 a.m. Arrives at the studio. First priority: make sure all the equipment is working properly. He preps the cameras that will be needed for the day’s shows.
9:40 a.m. Makes the daily schedule for the six interns from area colleges. Warchol himself started at CHOP in 2022 as an intern.
11 a.m. We’re live! The first hour of programming is called “Storytime,” which brings stories to life through live performances by professional storytellers and CHOP staff.
11:30 a.m. Grabs a quick lunch on the go.
Noon The next hour’s program is lighthearted news and trivia. One of the topics today is Shark Week, with an on-camera intern asking patients fun questions like “What’s your favorite shark?” and providing facts about conservation and shark species.
A chance to feel like a star
1 p.m. A half-hour of live-streamed gaming starts. Warchol is joined by a member of CHOP’s Patient Technology Program and 10-year-old patient Kolin to compete in Mario Kart. Kolin’s mother, Joy, is in the studio watching her son play. “He’s been here for 13 months waiting for a heart,” Joy says of Kolin. “He likes to do anything to get out of his room. He’s such a social kid. Coming to the studio gives him a sense of normalcy.” Beyond being an on-camera gamer, Kolin has helped with working the camera and hosting shows. “We give kids a chance to be seen, to feel like a star,” Warchol explains.
1:25 p.m. Warchol wins the Mario Kart game! He and the interns quickly change the studio setup for the next segment.
1:30 p.m. Warchol and team members are on camera demonstrating how to make a batch of ice cream in a jar. It’s one of the ways they teach patients to use their imagination or creativity. Sitting at a table in the studio, Shyame watches the real ice cream getting made while forming an ice cream cone out of Play-Doh. Shyame is the sibling of a patient, and she’s here with her dad, Steve, who is trying to keep her entertained.
Dragons, bingo and prizes
1:55 p.m. Isabella and Giovanni, who are likewise siblings of a patient, have sat down at the table with Shyame. As the program staff set up for the next segment — the highly popular daily bingo — Warchol chats with the kids. He also gets notes from another patient on what to show for the “Movie Night” broadcast: “How to Train Your Dragon — I’ve watched it three times!”
2 p.m. Bingo begins, hosted by two child life specialists. Kids who win the game can call the studio, give their name and room number, and get a prize delivered to their room.
2:20 p.m. Seven-year-old patient Kai jumps onto the set to help with the bingo board. He shies away, though, from talking into the microphone.
3 p.m. Often this hour is filled with a show called “The Countdown,” a televised radio broadcast with trivia and song requests that lets a patient be a “radio DJ” in studio or at bedside. Today, however, the child life team is hosting an activity in the area outside the studio, with patients pretending to be doctors caring for stuffed animals. “In support of the event, we’re playing fun upbeat music,” Warchol explains, with popular songs from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Chappell Roan on rotation.
3:20 p.m. The interns and volunteers help patients with prize pickups and deliveries.
4:10 p.m. Warchol edits patient keepsake recordings and multimedia therapeutic projects to be sent to families. Checks email and preps materials for the next day’s programming.
5 p.m. Switches to the pre-recorded programming and does a final walkthrough to check the equipment.
5:30 p.m. Heads home. The evening consists of dinner, video games and thinking about future program ideas.
To learn how you can support the Patient Media and Events Program, contact Gabrielle Rinkus.
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It's an unfortunate reality: For many children, a hospital stay can feel like an endless stretch of time with little to distinguish one day from the next. They might be confined to their room or have mobility limitations. It's hard to feel like a regular kid when you can't run outside and play with friends.
This is a challenge that Michal Warchol helps solve. He's an advanced patient media specialist with CHOP's Patient Media and Events Program.
As part of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, the Patient Media and Events team uses a state-of-the-art multimedia broadcast studio to create programs for CHOP's 24/7 TV channel, which is accessible from the televisions in each patient room. The programming has four goals: to be therapeutic (helping kids cope), educational, interactive and entertaining.
The live programming airs every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Patients have multiple opportunities to engage with live shows. If they visit the studio in person, they can interact as an audience member, help host, work equipment or create their very own shows. Those watching from their room can call in to answer trivia questions or give feedback. Once the live shows are done, the rest of the day features pre-recorded programs so that patients can tune into CHOP's TV network at any hour to be entertained. Warchol's job is to make sure this nonstop programming runs smoothly. This is a day in his life.
7:30 a.m. Wakes up and gets ready for work.
8:30 a.m. Catches the train from his home in Delaware County.
9 a.m. Arrives at the studio. First priority: make sure all the equipment is working properly. He preps the cameras that will be needed for the day’s shows.
9:40 a.m. Makes the daily schedule for the six interns from area colleges. Warchol himself started at CHOP in 2022 as an intern.
11 a.m. We’re live! The first hour of programming is called “Storytime,” which brings stories to life through live performances by professional storytellers and CHOP staff.
11:30 a.m. Grabs a quick lunch on the go.
Noon The next hour’s program is lighthearted news and trivia. One of the topics today is Shark Week, with an on-camera intern asking patients fun questions like “What’s your favorite shark?” and providing facts about conservation and shark species.
A chance to feel like a star
1 p.m. A half-hour of live-streamed gaming starts. Warchol is joined by a member of CHOP’s Patient Technology Program and 10-year-old patient Kolin to compete in Mario Kart. Kolin’s mother, Joy, is in the studio watching her son play. “He’s been here for 13 months waiting for a heart,” Joy says of Kolin. “He likes to do anything to get out of his room. He’s such a social kid. Coming to the studio gives him a sense of normalcy.” Beyond being an on-camera gamer, Kolin has helped with working the camera and hosting shows. “We give kids a chance to be seen, to feel like a star,” Warchol explains.
1:25 p.m. Warchol wins the Mario Kart game! He and the interns quickly change the studio setup for the next segment.
1:30 p.m. Warchol and team members are on camera demonstrating how to make a batch of ice cream in a jar. It’s one of the ways they teach patients to use their imagination or creativity. Sitting at a table in the studio, Shyame watches the real ice cream getting made while forming an ice cream cone out of Play-Doh. Shyame is the sibling of a patient, and she’s here with her dad, Steve, who is trying to keep her entertained.
Dragons, bingo and prizes
1:55 p.m. Isabella and Giovanni, who are likewise siblings of a patient, have sat down at the table with Shyame. As the program staff set up for the next segment — the highly popular daily bingo — Warchol chats with the kids. He also gets notes from another patient on what to show for the “Movie Night” broadcast: “How to Train Your Dragon — I’ve watched it three times!”
2 p.m. Bingo begins, hosted by two child life specialists. Kids who win the game can call the studio, give their name and room number, and get a prize delivered to their room.
2:20 p.m. Seven-year-old patient Kai jumps onto the set to help with the bingo board. He shies away, though, from talking into the microphone.
3 p.m. Often this hour is filled with a show called “The Countdown,” a televised radio broadcast with trivia and song requests that lets a patient be a “radio DJ” in studio or at bedside. Today, however, the child life team is hosting an activity in the area outside the studio, with patients pretending to be doctors caring for stuffed animals. “In support of the event, we’re playing fun upbeat music,” Warchol explains, with popular songs from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Chappell Roan on rotation.
3:20 p.m. The interns and volunteers help patients with prize pickups and deliveries.
4:10 p.m. Warchol edits patient keepsake recordings and multimedia therapeutic projects to be sent to families. Checks email and preps materials for the next day’s programming.
5 p.m. Switches to the pre-recorded programming and does a final walkthrough to check the equipment.
5:30 p.m. Heads home. The evening consists of dinner, video games and thinking about future program ideas.
To learn how you can support the Patient Media and Events Program, contact Gabrielle Rinkus.
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