Team Up With Sutton Children's Medical Center to Honor
Carl Mikovich

March 7, 2006

Shreveport, La. – In order to honor the memory of former Independence Bowl chairman and Poulan/Weed Eater President Carl Mikovich, his family is asking that memorial contributions be made to Christus Schumpert’s Sutton Children’s Medical Center to acquire a new machine which benefits its young patients.

The hospital wishes to purchase a machine called the “Vecta Distraction Station, which is a powerful multi-sensory delivery system. The station, which is made by TFH USA, a Pennsylvania-based company that specializes in multi-sensory environments. According to www.tfhusa.com, the station is used to relax and soothe children while diverting their attention during difficult clinical procedures.

The hub of the Distraction Station is an interactive bubble column that is over four feet tall. Four colored buttons give the user full control of the color of the bubbles. The station also includes fluorescent fiber optic cables that can be twisted and braided.

Atop the bubble column is a projector that shows slide disks of colorful drawings and artwork. Multi-sensory environments were originally developed in the United Kingdom in the 1970s “as part of a sensory approach to enable developmentally delayed individuals to acquire basic communication and life skills.”

Contributions in honor of former Independence Bowl chairman Carl Mikovich can be made through Sutton Children’s Medical Center by calling the CHRISTUS Schumpert Foundation at 318-681-6781 or sending them to CHRISTUS Schumpert Foundation, One Saint Mary Place, Shreveport, LA 71101. All contributions will go toward the purchase of the Vecta Distraction Station and a commemorative marker will be placed on the Distraction Station honoring the Mikovich family’s longtime support of pediatric care in our community.

-end-