The Santa Claus Connection

This holiday season, hospitalized children who otherwise would not have the chance to meet Santa Claus were able to see and speak with jolly old St. Nick through the magic of an Internet video telephone from Cisco.

Children in Canada, Germany and the United States were given a special opportunity to see and talk live with Santa during a special video telephone call that connects kids with the North Pole by pressing a single button on the video phone. It's a unique, hi-tech opportunity for children to share their special requests with Santa. This is the third consecutive year that Cisco has hosted the program.

Children and their family members gathered in common areas in the hospitals where Cisco video telephony equipment was set up for the calls. In most of the hospitals, the video phone system was also transported to patients' rooms so that children too sick to leave their rooms could participate in the program. Cisco and Mattel provided Christmas gifts for the children.

While everyone knows that the real Santa Claus is in the North Pole busily preparing for Christmas, he agreed, with the help ofCisco, to take time out of his busy schedule to speak withCHEO patients in Ontario, Canada. Through the magic of Internet video telephony, Santa interacted with hospitalized children and their families at CHEO.
"Christmas is such a magical time for children and we want to ensure that hospitalized children didn't miss out on any of the holiday traditions and festivities," said Nora Ullyot, Child Life Specialist at CHEO. "That includes a visit with Santa. We are thrilled that Cisco was able to help us realize this."

"Cisco has a strong belief of using the power of the network to help change the way we work, live, learn and play," commented Garth Scully, regional manager for Cisco. "The children here don't care how the technology works, they just know that by pressing a single button, they can see, hear and talk to Santa about their wish lists this Christmas."

The interaction uses the network infrastructure of the hospital and allows Internet Protocol communications to provide simultaneous voice and video to the children connecting with Santa in the North Pole.

CHEO is the only Canadian hospital to benefit from Santa's virtual visit. Children were given an opportunity to see and talk with Santa during a special video telephone call that connected kids with the North Pole by pressing a single button. The children and family members gathered in a CHEO playroom where the video telephony equipment was set up for the calls. Each child who spoke with Santa was given a toy donated by Cisco and Mattel.