LINKING HOSPITAL PATIENTS Network Heals Loneliness By Paul Wisenthal. Paul Wisenthal is a freelance writer JENNIFER HERASME, 12, wants to become a teacher. But she misses out on school and homework assignments because she spends most of her life battling cancer in a city-run Bronx hospital. Until six months ago, her days at Lincoln Hospital were long, lonely and tedious, interspersed with the complications of chemotherapy. Sometimes, because of her treatments, she lived seven painful days at a time in isolation, separated from family and friends. Then Starbright World-an interactive computer network linking seriously ill kids at hospitals across the country-lightened some of the loneliness and tedium. Operating on a broadband network provided by Sprint, Jennifer improved her English and learned to work with the computer for the first time through Starbright's games and video conferencing. "I like using Starbright because I get to talk to people and it keeps me busy," Jennifer said. The same for another Lincoln Hospital patient, 13-year-old Madelin Cruz, who has spent much of her life at Lincoln, battling severe asthma and lung disease. She surfs the Starbright network to meet friends. "Starbright is great for kids to meet new people," she said. "Lots of times, I have no one to speak to" at the hospital. Video Conferencing in Pediatrics Sick children in 46 U.S. hospitals-including Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Lincoln Hospital in New York City-now have access to Starbright's computer technology and video conferencing. Twenty-three other hospitals are considering joining the network in the next year, including St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park. Plans are also in the works to give chronically ill children such as Jennifer and Madelin access to Starbright World at home. According to Peter Samuelson, producer of the movie "Arlington Road" and founder of Starbright, it takes close to $40,000 to get one hospital up and running on the linked system. "In 10 years, we hope every child with a chronic or serious disease will benefit from one of our programs," Samuelson said. He joined forces with Steven Spielberg, who enlisted Hollywood to prepare CDs, software and videos about cystic fibrosis, anemia, sickle cell anemia other chronic diseases that young patients can access via the computer link. Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, chairman of the fund-raising campaign, leaned on corporate America for cash and computer equipment. "Starbright unlocks the prison of their disease," Schwarzkopf said in a recent phone interview. "Jennifer's world just opened up," said her physician, Thomas Moulton. "She learned about computers, and her communications skills improved." In 1998, a study at Mt. Sinai Medical Center found that Starbright children felt less pain and anxiety than sick youngsters engaged in alternative activities. Leading experts predict that Web-video conferencing will become as popular as video games. Vinton Cerf, co-creator of the Internet, predicts that nearly a billion devices like Starbright will be online by the year 2007 because many of them will be "low-cost Internet-enabled appliances." Cerf predicts that in 2010, "It will be natural to strap on a 'Batman belt' containing a variety of battery-powered devices, all capable of interacting through the wireless Internet with similar devices and with servers of all kinds." Last June, Starbright Foundation won the Computerworld Smithsonian Award for its visionary use of information technology. But for Dr. Moulton, on his daily rounds visiting Jennifer, her question to him remains the same. "Doctor, when can I go home?" For more information, write to:

 The Starbright Foundation 

1990 S. Bundy Dr., Suite 100

Los Angeles, Calif. 90025.

Or visit the group's Web site, www.starbright.org.