Cox Communications has developed a new internal channel for Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH) that was designed to answer families’ questions and reduce children’s anxiety when they are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The new channel, PCH 1, made its debut during National Hospital Week, which runs May 6-12.
By using an animatronics therapy dog puppet known as Boomer, children at the hospital learn about X-rays, going to school at the hospital, working with research nurses, visiting the Animal-Assisted Therapy Team, and using various amenities at the hospital such as showers and washing machines.
The idea for a hospital education channel grew out of a multi-level relationship between Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Cox Communications companies. PCH has been a long-term partner with many of the Cox companies – from advertising and video production to installing Cox Business Internet, phone and digital television at the PCH campus.
To develop the content for PCH 1, the hospital’s marketing team, led by director of marketing and communications Debra Stevens, reached out to patients, parents, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and PCH’s leadership to find out the most frequently asked questions by families when a child is admitted to the hospital.
“We turned to Cox to present answers to these important questions in a fun, kid-friendly format,” Stevens said. “For Cox to make that kind of philanthropic commitment to PCH is very touching, and the product of our collaboration is just beautiful.”
“We were happy to tap the talents of our communications experts at Cox Communications, Cox Media, Cox Creative Services and Cox Business at every level to help Phoenix Children’s Hospital offer this unique channel,” said Steve Rizley, senior vice president and general manager for Cox. “As a father and grandfather, I am proud that the Cox teams will help provide a little more peace of mind to the families and kids who are receiving vital care at PCH during a time when they should be totally focused on getting better.”
Going forward, PCH and Cox said they would update PCH 1 with new content and Spanish-language offerings. They are also exploring patient/parent education videos that will teach families how to properly provide care at home or educate them about treatment options.
“We are proud to support the vital services of Phoenix Children’s Hospital on a variety of levels, from providing it reliable communications services to supporting its charitable events,” said Hyman Sukiennik, vice president of Cox Business and a member of the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation board of directors.
Health care has been a good vertical for Cox Business. Approximately 10 percent of Cox’s more than 275,000 business customers reside in the health care industry, and the company said it serves most of the major medical centers in its network footprint across 18 states.
