While lying in her hospital bed, Kiersten Bailor experienced panic attacks.
Instead of reaching for the nurse button, Bailor pressed buttons on a computer keyboard near her bed.
A relaxation video popped up on her TV screen, calming her.
Bailor used GetWellTown, a program introduced in October at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.
"I love it," said Bailor, 19, of Bear, who has been treated for cancer at the hospital. "I've been a patient here for four years and this makes my life a little easier."
GetWellTown is a new pediatric version of a patient interactive program by the company GetWellNetwork Inc. Pediatric patients can play games and movies. They can also send messages to the hospital staff, such as a request to have the room temperature changed. Most importantly, the system delivers educational and clinical care tools to patients and their families.
"If a family has been given information in the past and they don't want to have to ask the nurse again, this gives them the ability to review it on the network," said Kim Engelhardt, a nurse manager at the hospital.
Since the hospital introduced the feature in October, 97 percent of patients and families have used it, with more than half accessing the educational content.
Several health systems across the nation, including Christiana Care and Bayhealth, have patient interactive health systems.
Only a handful of children's hospitals use pediatric versions. The Rockland hospital is one of only five nationwide to use GetWellTown.
GetWellNetwork's major competitor, Skylight Healthcare Systems of San Diego, also has had a pediatric version.
In designing the pediatric version, GetWellNetwork partnered with KidsHealth, part of the Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media. The Nemours Foundation oversees duPont hospital, and KidsHealth is in a wing of the hospital.
The information is useful for children because the network uses kid-friendly language and a kid-friendly medium, said Dr. Kate Cronan, an emergency-room doctor at the hospital and the director of health content integration at KidsHealth.
"This appeals to their level of understanding," she said. "And I believe if they know what's coming and what to expect, it's less likely that they'll be scared."