Programs recognized with a 2012 Telly Award on The Patient Channel are:

·  “Avoiding Hospital Readmissions-Heart Attack”

·  “Avoiding Hospital Readmissions-Heart Failure”

Both programs address important information and recovery guidelines to help keep hospitalized patients from returning to the hospital after discharge.

The program recognized with a 2012 Telly Award on The Newborn Channel is:

·  “A Mother’s Gift”

This program explains why breastfeeding is best for baby and Mom, and provides valuable tips on how to breastfeed and how to use a breast pump when Mom is away from baby.

The Telly Awards competition is in its 33rd year, and received nearly 11,000 entries from TV and cable networks, ad agencies, production companies and other content producers.

The judging council evaluates each program individually on its own merit. In addition to The Wellness Network, other former Telly winners include Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Nickelodeon, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Fox Sports Network, and Time Warner Cable.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,000 hospitals nationwide.

Encouraging patients and their families to take an active role in their health care by becoming involved and informed is critical. In celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 4-10, a unique patient safety education program will be released to provide patients and their families with instant access to current patient safety videos at their bedside and while receiving care. The 2012 SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is a free offering developed to assist health care organizations in educating patients to help prevent medical errors. The campaign features videos from The Joint Commission’s Speak Up™ campaign, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kimberly-Clark, The Patient Channel® from The Wellness Network, and Safe Care Campaign. The goal of the SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is to save lives, prevent harm and help patients receive safer care.

The SAFE CARE Program utilizes free posters that hospitals can hang in patient rooms which allows patients and families to instantly access and watch safety videos by topic on their own smart phones by simply pointing a smart phone at a QR code on the poster, or texting the word “SAFE” to 411247 to receive a link to Safe Care’s safety video library. The nine short videos address the most common patient safety issues in hospitals such as hand hygiene, preventing infections, avoiding medication errors, patient falls, and more. Organizations are also able to customize the videos for a nominal fee.

“We are making important safety information available to patients and their families 24/7 with no training or time obligation whatsoever from the hospital care staff,” says Victoria Nahum, executive director, SAFE CARE Campaign. “These videos show how to receive the safest care possible and we put it right into the hands of the patients and their families’ right when they need it most — while they’re at the bedside.”

“We know that the more patients are involved in their care the less likely there will be a bad outcome such as a medication mix-up or a health care-associated infection,” says Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer, The Joint Commission. “This campaign gives patients the information they need to speak up and be active participants in their health care.”

Statements from campaign participants:
Being informed by asking the right questions, gathering information and gleaning knowledge is one of the most powerful ways for patients and caregivers to join with medical professionals to ensure safe and effective outcomes. As part of patient safety, we believe that infection prevention is everyone’s responsibility, so we are supporting the Safe Care Patient Safety Education Program designed to educate patients, caregivers and visitors about what to address when preparing for or receiving medical care. Kimberly-Clark has long been committed to providing the essentials that restore patients from crisis to better health and improve the quality of their lives. Our participation in this important initiative is yet another way in which we hope to reach consumers with potentially life-saving information and to further support medical professionals in helping them prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

- Joanne Bauer, president, Kimberly-Clark Health Care

The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, has proudly worked with the Safe Care Campaign and The Joint Commission to promote patient safety in hospitals since 2007. We create safety videos which help hospitals foster a culture of patient safety by airing continuously on both The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel in over 2,300 hospitals. The safety messaging is reinforced in patient handouts we provide to hospitals. We are thrilled to leverage new technologies to help hospitals extend the reach of these important messages to patients before, during and after their hospital stay.

- Dave Ross, COO, The Wellness Network

Patients have a right to know that they are receiving safe care. We hope that educational materials, like these, will empower patients to start a discussion with their healthcare provider about what can be done to prevent infections during their medical care.

- Arjun Srinivasan, M.D., associate director of Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others. The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

Available free of charge, Newborn Channel To-Go offers videos on newborn care, breastfeeding, the maternity hospital experience, and immunizations. Compatible with iPhone®, Android™, Blackberry® and other smartphone platforms, these essential how-to videos are now available to moms wherever they want, whenever they want.

“We’ve offered trusted, engaging, parenting content to new moms at hospital bedside for nearly 20 years. Hospitals asked for our help in extending the reach and benefits of our channel to moms before, during and after their hospital stay,” said Dave Ross, Chief Operating Officer of The Wellness Network.

The Newborn Channel and its sister channel The Patient Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,400 hospitals nationwide.

According to SBTS, National NBS Awareness Month offers the opportunity to further inform the public of newborn screening which can prevent the serious complications of undiagnosed underlying disorders in children. The goal is to raise the awareness of newborn screening to the general public by continuous, ongoing education about newborn screening. Throughout this past year, The Newborn Channel was host to special programming dedicated to newborn screening, including a PSA featuring actor Scott Baio and his wife Renee, who recently had a personal experience with newborn screening when their baby daughter was born.

“During September, our hope is make a special effort to reach the more than 4 million families who are expecting babies this year,” said Jill Levy-Fisch, Foundation President. “There is a crucial need for education around the topic of newborn screening, and we are dedicated to making sure new parents ensure their newborn is screened comprehensively and successfully.”

“We are passionate about this cause, and remain dedicated in support of SBTS’s plight to educate families about newborn screening,” said Dr. Tanya Altmann, medical advisor to The Newborn Channel. “We look forward to featuring a segment throughout the year on the Channel, ensuring we reach as many births as possible.”

The Newborn Channel and its sister channel The Patient Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.

· “Mommy Don’t Smoke”-an informative and empowering smoking cessation program
· “Special Care For Your Preemie”- a program to help parents of babies born early to understand and manage the unique health issues of their newborns

The Telly Awards competition is in its 32nd year, and received over 13,000 entries from TV and cable networks, ad agencies, production companies and other content producers.

(NEW YORK, NY) July 26, 2011 — The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, today announced a new animated series produced by The Joint Commission to be featured on the network. The videos, titled “Speak Up: Take Medication Safely” and “Speak Up: Prevent Errors In Your Care,” will encourage millions of patients in hospitals across the country to speak up and be active participants in their health care.

“These fun videos have a serious purpose — letting patients of all literacy levels know it is okay and expected that they ask questions about their care,” said Dave Ross, chief operating officer for The Wellness Network. “We are dedicated to arming patients with empowering and life-saving information at every opportunity, and distributing these safety messages over our TV channels helps hospitals get the messages right to the bedside when patients should be thinking about these things.”

Produced by The Joint Commission, the Speak Up series features entertaining 60-second videos intended as public service announcements. The first videos in the series debuted in March 2011, and in addition to The Wellness Network’s group of more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide, they also air on The Joint Commission’s YouTube Channel, and are accessible to accredited organizations and other interested stakeholders that want to promote the Speak Up message.

“The Joint Commission’s Speak Up campaigns strongly encourage patients to be active participants in their health care.  The Speak Up videos offer helpful tips and provide important guidance on how patients should get involved,” says Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer, The Joint Commission.  “Our goal is to help patients understand they are a valuable and key member of the health care team and should never be intimidated to ‘Speak Up’ on their own behalf or that of a loved one.”

The Joint Commission’s award winning Speak Up program features brochures, posters and buttons on a variety of patient safety topics. The national program urges patients to take a role in preventing health care errors by becoming active, involved and informed participants on the health care team. Since its launch in 2002, the Speak Up program has grown to include 17 campaign brochures and three posters, as well as Spanish language versions of all brochures. Free downloadable files of all Speak Up videos, brochures and posters (including Spanish language versions of the brochures) are available on The Joint Commission website at http://www.jointcommission.org/speakup.aspx. Speak Up brochures and posters also are available for purchase through Joint Commission Resources at (877) 223-6866 or online at www.jcrinc.com.

The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health and wellness media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay. Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network. For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv

About The Joint Commission

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

According to the American Hospital Association, National Hospital Week began in 1921 to build a culture of open communication between hospitals and the communities they serve, and is now the nation’s largest health care event that celebrates health care professionals.

“This week celebrates people who care,” said Dave Ross, Chief Operating Officer of The Wellness Network. “Every day we appreciate hospitals’ continued commitment to empowering patients and their families with information about important health conditions, providing high quality patient care and improving the health of the communities they serve.”

The Patient Channel and its sister channel The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.

Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2011 – The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, announced today the findings of a quantitative and qualitative, three-phase study, titled “A Day in the Life of a Hospital Patient.” The study was conducted to determine the overall patient experience, mindset and willingness to receive health and wellness information during hospitalization and after discharge.

As an extension of the annual viewership research fielded by The Patient Channel, The Wellness Network commissioned GfK Research North America to conduct in an in-depth consumer study to help better understand patients’ in-hospital experience and the role The Patient Channel plays in their experiences. Participants were engaged throughout a multi-stage process: phase one – 239 in-hospital interviews; phase two – 92 at-home telephone interviews and phase three – at-home qualitative interviews with 15 patients.

The final phase of the study included videotaped interviews in or near the homes of 15 respondents across ten states. Participants were pre-screened by professional ethnographers, and included five men and 10 women, ages 31 to 79 years, who faced a variety of medical conditions. These final, in-depth interviews provided even greater insight into the patient’s perspective of his or her hospital experience, interaction with, and attitude toward The Patient Channel.

This comprehensive research revealed several characteristics of the hospital experience and viewing habits of patients:

• Television is valuable to patients during their hospital stay; often a time of anxiety, uncertainty and loneliness. Patients often turn on the television soon after arriving and watch an average of 28 hours over the course of their stay, with nearly 6 hours (or greater than 20 percent) spent watching The Patient Channel.

• In hospitals that carry The Patient Channel, patients have an improved overall perception of the facility and its level of care for patients.

• Patients are highly receptive to The Patient Channel’s content, independent of a patient’s initial curiosity about his or her own condition. Respondents ranked this source of health information third behind their health care professional and family/friends, ahead of TV News, support groups and the internet.

• Most patients find The Patient Channel’s programs interesting and worthwhile, with information presented in a clear, understandable, practical, reassuring and comforting manner.

• Some respondents absorb and recall a substantial amount of program information long after their discharge. Sixty-seven percent say the ability to watch The Patient Channel after discharge would keep them more motivated to stay on their treatment plan.

• Patients consider The Patient Channel similar to in-home educational cable programming such as The Learning Channel, The Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, D Life, The History Channel and Biography. Further, viewers feel The Patient Channel is more educational than other health programming they see on cable.

“A hospital stay can be a scary, foreign experience, so patients are looking to connect with something familiar,” said Suzanne Fleming, SVP for The Wellness Network. “This study shows that The Patient Channel, presented in a hospital setting, offers a unique platform for health care providers and advertisers to connect with patients when they are most receptive.”

The Patient Channel and its sister channel The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers, and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay.

Additional information about The Patient Channel and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at www.thepatientchannel.com.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts baby care and postpartum programming for new parents, reaching 60 percent of new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

NEW YORK, February 23, 2011 – Interactivation Health Networks, which acquired The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel from NBC last year, announced today that it is changing its name to The Wellness Network. The new name reflects the company’s focus on providing unique, unparalleled and relevant health and wellness content, and advertising solutions, benefiting its three core constituents – advertisers, hospitals and consumers. The Wellness Network properties, The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, will retain their same brand names.

The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The Channels are valuable educational tools for healthcare professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay.

“Our award-winning education and lifestyle management programming is an increasingly valuable resource for both hospitals and patients as healthcare providers seek to leverage technologies and education to improve the quality of healthcare,” said Dave Ross, COO of The Wellness Network. “Whether it was the birth of a baby or an unexpected health event that led to a hospital visit, patients all want to recover quickly, stay healthy and prevent future illness. Our Channels’ focus on wellness aligns the healthcare provider’s, hospital’s and patient’s goals.”

With unmatched access to highly attractive demographics, The Wellness Network also enables healthcare advertisers to align their brands with award-winning content that is trusted and preferred by consumers. For example, viewers rank The Patient Channel third (behind their healthcare professional and family/friends) as a key source of health information and well ahead of broadcast television news programs, newspapers, radio and the internet. 67% of viewers feel that watching The Patient Channel motivated them to stay on their treatment plan, increasing patient compliance with their healthcare provider’s program.

The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel allow brands to specifically-target their marketing campaigns to engaged consumers who are open to receiving brand messages and ready to act,” said Suzanne Fleming, SVP at The Wellness Network. “We connect our advertisers directly with their target audience at critical life moments alongside programming aimed at promoting a better lifestyle and maintaining good health.”

More information about The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, as well as details about programming, sponsorship opportunities, and more can be found via the hyperlinks below.

The Wellness Network also partners with Joint Commission Resources to produce and distribute the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Education Network.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by healthcare professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts baby care and postpartum programming for new parents, reaching 60 percent of new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network which is a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by the Wellness Network.

For more information, visit www.thenewbornchannel.com, www.thepatientchannel.com and www.jcrqsn.com