Disney has long had a partnership with CHOC Children’s in Orange County and now they’ve announced ambitious new plans in partnership with the hospital to enhance patience and family experiences.
Disney will work with patient care experts at CHOC to create a combination of customized experiences with favorite Disney characters with the aim to ease the stress of a hospital stay. Interactive technology, storytelling and fun are the means by which the partnership aims to make things better.
The program also will include customer-experience training for doctors, nurses and staff. The Disney Institute will create a customized program for healthcare professionals designed to enhance the patient and family experience.
Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston was the first hospital to work with Disney as part of the Disney Team of Heroes initiative which was announced in March by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger as an innovative plan to dedicate more than $100 million in company resources, including cash, products and services, to reinvent the patient and family experience in children’s hospitals across the globe.
Disney has a rich history of providing comfort and inspiration to families with children facing serious illness dating back to Walt Disney, who was on the community committee that helped open CHOC. From Walt Disney’s early fundraising efforts for the hospital and the annual CHOC Walk in the Park to the $5 million gift from the Disneyland Resort toward the construction of CHOC’s newest tower, including the interactive “Turtle Talk” show in the lobby, this new initiative will expand on Disney’s legacy of providing moments of joy for CHOC patients.