Ponoka Stampede Parade marches into three healthcare facilities over Alberta's SuperNet.
July 5, 2010
PONOKA, ALBERTA - The floats, horses and marching bands of this year’s Ponoka Stampede Parade streamed across Alberta’s SuperNet and into three healthcare facilities, bringing some variety – and fun – to more than 100 patients.
Residents at Ponoka’s Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury, the Ponoka General Hospital and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton were able to watch live coverage of the 90-minute parade on July 2 over a high-quality videoconference link. Cameras in front of the Ponoka Jubilee Library, right on the parade route, captured all the action, while CBC Radio Calgary journalist Jenny Howe and Centennial Centre nurse Kelly McCheyne volunteered their time to provide colour commentary.
Roughly 75 residents at Centennial Centre and another 20 at Ponoka General watched the parade, while 15 children at the Stollery tuned in over the government’s SuperNet-enabled videoconference system.
“Using Alberta’s SuperNet to bring live coverage of the parade to hospital residents gives them the opportunity to be part of the community,” said Chris Richards, Program Manager for the Centennial Centre’s Halvar Jonson Centre for Brain Injury. “Attending the parade can be a five- or six-hour challenge for our residents: they have to be bused down well before the parade begins, sit through the parade itself, and then wait for the ride back to the Centre. Many have special needs and don’t have the physical tolerance for an outing of that length.
“Bringing live video coverage to the Centre’s gymnasium let them wander in and out at their leisure, and the staff were able to ensure they were comfortable and all of their needs were met.”
The Ponoka Stampede and Parade are major events in the life of the community, Chris added, “and watching the parade live certainly has a therapeutic value. It boosts morale and lifts their spirits.”
Axia NetMedia Corporation worked with staff at the Centennial Centre and Alberta Telehealth to set up the high-quality videoconference link. This was the second year that the parade has been videocast to the Centre. Residents watched the parade from the Centre’s gym in 2009, and based on the success of that event Axia was asked to set up a special connection again this year – and to extend it to Ponoka General and the Stollery.
The Centre has already said it would like to see a repeat performance next year.
“Alberta’s SuperNet was built to open up new opportunities to all Albertans wherever they live,” said Murray Sigler, President of Axia Canada. “Axia was proud to have helped bring some of the Ponoka Stampede spirit home for the hospital residents.”
Alberta’s SuperNet is the link that connects Albertans to each other and to the rest of the world. It is a state-of-the-art, ultra-high-speed network that connects more than 4,700 government facilities, including government offices, hospitals, schools, libraries, municipal offices and provincial courts around the Province of Alberta. Internet Service Providers can also connect to the SuperNet and use the infrastructure to extend high-speed Internet services into rural communities.
Axia NetMedia Corporation enables government and service providers to connect Albertans across the province to Alberta’s SuperNet. Axia NetMedia Corporation sells Real Broadband™ and passive services on Next Generation Networks that have implemented the Axia NGN Solution. The Axia NGN Solution has been implemented in Alberta, France and Singapore. Axia trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “AXX”.
Media Contact:
Dawn Tinling
VP, Investor Relations and Communications
Axia NetMedia Corporation
+1 403 538-4074
dawn.tinling@axia.com
