BRING ON THE FUN WHEN HOSPITALIZED KIDS CAN'T GO TO THE TOYS, THE TOYS COME TO THEM.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Oscar Soto and Stephanie Urbina sit down to a rousing game of Monopoly in a playroom at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

The two 9-year-old, who both have been in the hospital for more than two weeks, won't have to think about yucky-tasting medicine, chemotherapy or rehabilitation exercises, at least for a little while.

Thanks to the efforts of Encino's Roberto and Sharon Litwak, kids at CHLA -- and at a handful of other California hospitals -- now have more toys and extra time to play with them.

Through the Oscar Litwak Foundation, the couple has donated 13 ``mobile playrooms'' to medical centers in Southern California, Oakland and Washington, D.C. Four more are ready to go.

At each hospital, one or more converted emergency crash carts -- rainbow-colored and decorated with the foundation's kite logo -- are filled with playthings. They hold arts and crafts supplies, books, puzzles and lots of games.

``My son liked to play a different game each time,'' says Sharon Litwak who runs an Internet business selling Spanish-language books and music. ``He didn't know the instructions or how to play, but he'd just look at one game, then take another game.''

The Litwaks' son, Oscar, and his playing habits, were the inspiration for the foundation and its mobile playrooms. Diagnosed with Wilms' tumor (cancer of the kidneys) as an infant, Oscar was in and out of hospitals for most of his life before he died in September 2003, shortly after his fourth birthday.

During his numerous hospital stays -- both at CHLA and at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. -- Oscar had his priorities well in order, according to his parents.

``All he wanted to do was be in the playroom,'' says Roberto Litwak, ``and in the past, it was frustrating. Either the playroom was closed or he couldn't go anywhere.

``So when he passed away, we thought the best way to honor his memory was to come up with something where we would help other kids avoid the uncomfortable-ness of what he felt,'' Roberto continues.

The Litwaks set to work practically from the moment they lost Oscar. Barely a month after his death, the foundation had its nonprofit status. They then reached an agreement with Harloff, the healthcare equipment manufacturer, to create the customized carts.

An $1,800 donation acquires the fully loaded cart and two years' worth of replenished supplies: new arts and crafts every three months, new games every six months. And, yes, OLF takes requests based on which games are going over big with the kids and which aren't so popular.

These can be toted to a common area like the CHLA playroom or to a patient's room if the child can't easily move around, or if the common playroom is closed.

They delivered their first mobile playroom to Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles in February 2004. The foundation donated three mobile playrooms in 2004, 10 more in 2005 and expect to donate an additional 10 this year.

What motivated them

``The week after he passed away, we said, `We have to

do something. This is not the

end,' '' says Sharon Litwak. ``Actually, he was a cancer patient and a dialysis patient. The cancer floor was stocked with a lot of toys, but the dialysis floor was empty and the playroom was empty. Playrooms were what he liked most, and this was the best way to honor his memory.''

The foundation isn't limiting its playroom-supplying efforts to those on wheels.

As the Litwaks continue to bring the mobile playrooms into hospitals that request them, another branch of the Oscar Litwak Foundation is raising money to build permanent play areas in hospitals and medical centers that don't have them.

Also in Mexico

The first Oscar Litwak Playroom opened in October 2004 at Mexico City's Centro Medico ABC, and dollars from a recent foundation fundraiser are earmarked for a newly created pediatric unit at Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim.

But as good-willed as it seems to give toys and play equipment to hospitalized children, the Litwaks have found that their donations often meet with red tape.

Hospital liability regulations frequently have the foundation talking to lawyers before they can deliver a mobile playroom. Indeed, the Litwaks say they have more ready for donation than hospitals who have agreed to receive them.

CHLA has two mobile playrooms. According to the hospital's toy/gift coordinator, Albert Garcia, the hospital was initially leery when they heard of the Litwaks' offer.

``Funding is a big issue, and there are regulations, restrictions imposed by the hospital -- based on federal guidelines -- on what we can and cannot use,'' says Garcia who works in CHLA's Volunteer Resources Program. ``When we had first talked about a crash cart, it didn't seem like it was going to fit the need.''

When they saw the brightly colored mobile playroom and how much it could hold, however, CHLA officials realized that not only was it a perfect size, but the cart's ability to go into patients' rooms opened up a world of possibilities.

``It's a nice addition to our program,'' says longtime CHLA volunteer Barbara Smith, who loads the cart up for her twice-weekly rounds. ``You don't know what you're going to need on a particular night, so we try to stock it with a little bit of everything.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

Foundation facts

The mission of the Oscar Litwak Foundation is to improve the quality of life of sick children who are receiving long-term medical treatment. The foundation strives to make the child's stay in the hospital as enjoyable and comfortable as possible by creating fun playroom environments and establishing recreational programs in pediatric clinics. For more information about the nonprofit organization, call [phone] or visit www.oscarlitwakfoundation.org.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) REMEMBERING OSCAR

Family foundation birngs toys, smiles to sick kids

(2) Roberto and Sharon Litwak with the mobile playroom they designed and donated to Childrens Hospital to honor the memory of their son, Oscar.

(3) Volunteer Barbara Smith plays Monopoly with Stephanie Urbina and Oscar Soto, both 9-year-old patients at Childrens Hospital. The game is among many items on the mobile playroom, a cart designed to make hospital stays more pleasant for young children.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

Foundation facts (see text)