FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 1, 2019

MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Ryan Cross                                                                               
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital                                    
225-278-9215                                                                         

Robyn Lott
BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo
225-775-3877, ext. 201

San Diego Zoo Global
Public Relations
619-685-3291

MULTIMEDIA NEWS RELEASE

San Diego Zoo Kids Channel Begins Broadcasting at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital

          Young patients, their families and invited guests were treated to a visit with some amazing animal ambassadors from BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo—at a gathering at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital earlier today (Feb. 1, 2019). This special event was held to announce the arrival of San Diego Zoo Kids, a closed-circuit television adventure channel produced primarily for medical facilities that serve pediatric patients and their families.

          The creation and development of the San Diego Zoo Kids channel has been funded by businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. In 2017, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded San Diego Zoo Global an outstanding Museums for America grant to bring San Diego Zoo Kids to 75 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald House Charities facilities across the nation over the next three years. The generous grant from IMLS has made the channel available on television monitors at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

          San Diego Zoo Kids’ programming offers family friendly, animal-oriented stories that are both entertaining and educational. "We are excited to partner with the Baton Rouge Zoo and San Diego Zoo to offer this unique virtual getaway for our patients and guests," said Dr. Trey Dunbar, president, Our Lady of the Lake Children's Health. "We know that kids in the hospital feel better and heal faster when they turn their attention from the discomfort of their health challenges and focus instead on something that engages the mind and stimulates the imagination. We look forward to seeing the many smiles this new program brings to our amazing kids' faces."

          The channel also features animal stories from BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo. “We are beyond thrilled to partner with the San Diego Zoo to share our passion for animal care, education and conservation with children and their families at the OLOL Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge,” said Phil Frost, director, BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo. “This is yet another example of how our zoo continues to inspire all generations. Our collaboration to showcase the wonders of the Animal Kingdom will certainly bring smiles to the young patients and families spending time in the hospital. We are blessed to be a part of something so exceptional and impactful for some of our favorite fans.”

           The San Diego Zoo Kids channel offers up-close video encounters with animals, stories about caring for animals, quizzes about animals and habitats, and a wide variety of short video vignettes hosted by San Diego Zoo Global ambassador Rick Schwartz and San Diego Zoo Kids hosts Olivia Degn and Michelle Myers. Viewers can see best-of videos from the San Diego Zoo’s famous Panda Cam and other online cameras, as well as content from other zoos around the world.

          “We continue to be humbled by the healing properties of San Diego Zoo Kids,” said Debra Erickson, director of communications, San Diego Zoo Global. “Parents and caregivers share that the channel, which has no commercials or inappropriate content, not only calms children but makes them happy.”

          San Diego Zoo Kids debuted in 2013 at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Since then, it has been installed in 198 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in 38 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, and in facilities in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Qatar and Curaçao.

About Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health is a collaborative, coordinated and child-focused statewide health network that provides patients with more access to physicians and providers specifically trained to care for children. The network includes hospital-based services at the main campus in Baton Rouge and the future freestanding hospital, as well as in Monroe with St. Francis Pediatrics. It also connects pediatricians, pediatric specialists and other health providers across our state with clinics in the Baton Rouge region, Hammond, Lafayette and Monroe. This model of coordinated pediatric healthcare extends the vital work happening at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital into more communities across Louisiana, so families have greater access to expertise close to home. 

About BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo
BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo is a place where people connect with animals, including tigers, giraffes, rhinos and alligators. The world-class Realm of the Tiger, Flamingo Cove, Giants of the Islands, Safari Playground, L'aquarium de Louisiane and KidsZoo exhibits offer fun and education for all ages.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s approximately 120,000 libraries and 35,000 museums, and related organizations. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. IMLS grant making, policy development and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.

About IMLS Community Anchors Program
IMLS promotes the role of museums as essential partners in addressing the needs of their communities by leveraging their expertise, knowledge, physical space, technology and other resources to identify and implement solutions. By strengthening museums’ capacities for civic engagement, these projects contribute to the creation of livable, sustainable communities. IMLS welcomes applications for projects that empower museums to transform their roles in their communities from being community resources to being community catalysts. Museums have a role to play providing civic and cultural engagement, facilitating lifelong learning, promoting digital inclusion and supporting economic vitality through programming and services. IMLS encourages projects that demonstrate collaboration, adopt co-creating strategies and engage with a wide variety of cross-sector stakeholders to accomplish a sustained collective-impact goal.

San Diego Zoo Kids
San Diego Zoo Kids reaches out to millions of children each year who might not otherwise be able to experience the wonders of animals, plants and their habitats, with the goal of making nature accessible to children everywhere. As part of San Diego Zoo Global, an international nonprofit conservation organization that works to save plants and animals worldwide, San Diego Zoo Kids seeks to fight extinction by raising awareness, building respect and igniting a passion for wildlife and conservation among younger audiences. The San Diego Zoo Kids website (kids.sandiegozoo.org) provides a learning experience about animals, habitats, and conservation for children anywhere. San Diego Zoo Kids provides free and discounted education programs in San Diego that meet LEAD standards for science curriculum and provides teacher training (kids.sandiegozoo.org/grownups). The San Diego Zoo Kids channel (sandiegozoo.org/kidsnetwork) broadcasts television programming in more than 175 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses around the world, providing joy, comfort, laughter, and learning to children and their families who are experiencing challenging times. To learn more, visit the links above or connect with us on Facebook and YouTube.

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