Fundación Aladina

Teen room

Much research has shown that teenagers with cancer are treated
within a pediatric unit have 30% better recovery rate than those
treated in adult oncology units. Nevertheless, their needs are not
the same as younger children.

Aware of this, and following the example of other countries such
as USA or the United Kingdom, the Fundación Aladina is trying
to help Spanish pediatric hospitals attract more teenagers. To this
end, and as a starting point for this ambitious project, we have
destined a substantial part of our finances to build an
entertainment room for young people in the Niño Jesús Hospital.

The Teenager´s rooms are areas exclusively for the use of the
young people, far away from parents, doctors and health workers.
There, they can relax, and reclaim their personal space, as well
as mix with other boys and girls of the same age. The rooms are
equipped with videogame consoles, television, computers and
all sorts of art supplies and audiovisual equipment. They are
permanently manned by Fundación Aladina volunteers, who also
carry out a number of workshops and activities designed for this
age group.

As part of this first project, Fundación Aladina is also proud to
have taken on the project to close in the terrace on the third floor
of the oncology unit in the Niño Jesús Hospital (San Ildefonso),
as requested by Dr. Madero, the hospital's Head of Oncology.
This construction has allowed family members with patients staying in the rooms next to the terrace to enjoy it year round, as those on the second floor below already do.

Teen room of Hospital Niño Jesús

When a teenager is admitted to the Hemo/Oncology Ward of the Niño Jesús Hospital for the first time, he/she receives a personalized invitation on behalf of the Aladina Foundation. Along with it there is a magnetic swipe card with his/her name on it, which is his/her key to getting into the "Teen Room", a refuge "away from" the hospital but only a few meters from his/her room.

With the invitation he/she also receives the strict rules of the Teen Room:

Teen room activities:

Thanks to the generous donations from a multitude of companies and individuals, the Teen Room is fitted out with all types of IT equipment: MAC computers, PCs, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStations 2 and 3, Xbox...

The teenagers are free to do what they want in the Teen Room: play with the consoles, watch films, use the computers or just relax with their friends and the volunteers. We also organize all kinds of workshops and activities such as the Make-up Workshop, Photography Classes, Dance Classes, afternoon movies, etc.