It's 2,181 miles from Schenectady, New York to Salt Lake City, but this February the Winter Olympics came right to Schenectady, to the third floor of the Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital.

There were snowflakes, though they hung from the ceiling rather than fell from the sky. There was a cross country ski trail, though the mile markers were affixed to the hospital hallways rather than to trees or sticks in the snow. There was curl and ice hockey, a solo rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and even the dousing of the Olympic torch at the end.

It certainly was memorable, even if it had nothing to do with the Salt Lake affair that everyone had been watching on television.

The athletes in these Olympics were patients at Sunnyview, and the enthusiastic cheerleaders and Olympic village volunteers were members of the Union College (New York) women's ice hockey team, bringing their spirit and love of sports directly to those who needed some uplifting.

Sunnyview is a 104-bed rehabilitation hospital in northeastern New York that serves both adults and children. Sunnyview is where people go to recover from debilitating accidents, strokes and illnesses. The patients learn to walk, perform daily tasks, maneuver wheelchairs or prosthetics and, in most cases, return to their homes and communities.

But while they're at Sunnyview, patients are busy working on regaining skills lost to disease or accident. So in February, the staff at Sunnyview spiced up what can be tremendously difficult and strenuous work by dividing patients into four "teams" for the Olympics and supervising a full complement of "competitions."

Members of the Union College ice hockey team cheered on team members representing the United States, Canada, Ireland and Italy as they made their rounds of events.

"Faster, Higher, Stronger" is well- known as an Olympic theme, but it could be the mantra of the Sunnyview patients, who were encouraged by Connie Todt, a recreation therapist and coordinator of recreational services at the hospital.

"We're going to make you use your mind and your muscle," Todt told the participants when the games began.

Patients had to navigate stations that were designed to test their progress in balance, eye-hand coordination, mapping, cognition, following directions, visual scanning and fine-motor skills. All of the stations were designed with an Olympic sport in mind.

It was, as Todt said, a "therapy party."

Jamie Laubisch, freshman defensive player and co-captain of the Union College team, contributed to the party atmosphere when she led a roomful of participants in a rendition of "Happy Birthday." The birthday patient was 18-year-old Jennifer Schneider, whose college studies had been interrupted by an accident. Schneider appreciated the hoopla.

"Everyone was laughing and helping each other during the Olympics," she said. "I met new people, and we acted as one group."

A member of the ECAC East All-Rookie Team, Laubisch was appreciated at Sunnyview for her singing and her hockey. Once Olympic organizers heard Laubisch was a veteran singer of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Union College men's ice hockey games, she was pressed into service again to sing the national anthem for the "Olympians."

The Union College team, along with head coach Fred Quistgard and assistant coach Myia Yates, also provided expert technical assistance and encouragement to competitors as they tried out their hockey skills.

It was an unusual way to spend a day, but coach Quistgard, who also started the "Take your pet to the hockey game" promotion at Union College and other activities to benefit the school's local animal shelter, is a big believer in mixing community interaction with fun.

"It works for everybody," he said. "Being a Division III school, we obviously don't draw huge crowds. But we make sure the community knows we're here, and they know who we are."

The community also knows they care. Sometimes cheers of encouragement, songs and hockey tips in a rehab hospital speak louder than words.