Make-a-wish recipient donates robot
## WHAT:
Unveiling of “Jericho’s Wish,” a robot modeled after the “Little Engine That Could.” Sponsored by the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation, the robot will deliver medicine to pediatric cancer inpatients at UCSF Children’s Hospital
## WHEN:
Thursday, May 31, 10 a.m.
## WHERE:
UCSF Children’s Hospital
505 Parnassus Ave., Second Floor Cafeteria
San Francisco, CA
## WHO:
* “Wish Child” Jericho Rajninger of Larkspur, Calif.
* Patricia Wilson, executive director, Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
* Roxanne Fernandes, executive director, UCSF Children’s Hospital
* Children who are cancer patients at UCSF Children’s Hospital
## CONTACT:
Media interested in covering the ceremony or arranging interviews with event participants should contact the UCSF News Office at (415) 476-2557.
Seven-year-old leukemia patient Jericho Rajninger will have his wish fulfilled by the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation in a ceremony at UCSF Children’s Hospital on Thursday, May 31, with the unveiling of “JR,” a robot designed to resemble the storybook “Little Engine That Could” that will deliver medication to children being treated for cancer.
JR features a conductor outfitted by The Gap who will “speak” to children with the voice of Hollywood voice actor Don de la Fontaine. The train motif was designed by San Francisco-based Gensler Architects. The automated device has drawers in its “caboose” from which medications will be drawn by the nurses as it chugs through the oncology unit.
Jericho’s wish-come-true is the result of a donation from the Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Aethon Corporation, a leading manufacturer of delivery robots for hospitals that donated the $100,000 device to Jericho through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“On behalf of the faculty, staff and all the children we serve, we proudly welcome JR to the UCSF family,” said Roxanne Fernandes, executive director of UCSF Children’s Hospital. “Jericho’s wish is unselfish and will surely bring a smile to help other young patients.”
A longtime UCSF Children’s Hospital patient, Jericho wished for a robot that would make taking all of the medication required in cancer treatment a little easier to swallow.
“When we first met him, Jericho told us that the worst part of his treatment is all the medication he has to take,” said Patricia Wilson, executive director of the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“All young patients dread it. Jericho thought a robot might make the process, if not fun, at least more pleasant. So, Jericho’s robot is about as pleasant looking as possible: a toy train complete with a talking conductor.”
In 2007 the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrates 23 years of fulfilling magical wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. One of the largest chapters nationwide, the Foundation has granted over 4,000 wishes in 17 Northern California counties.
One of the nation’s top children’s hospitals, UCSF Children’s Hospital creates an environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the healing edge of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond.
UCSF is a leading university that advances health worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences and health professions, and providing complex patient care.