Florida Hospital Celebration Health (see more articles like this)

An imaginative, educational, and entertaining video produced by Florida Hospital Celebration Health has won a major international award.  “The Bear Facts About CT Scan” has been judged to be the 2007 FREDDIE award recipient in the category Health Education by the International Health and Medical Media Awards. 

The video is the latest in a 3-D animated video series featuring two original characters named Max and Buddy.  The two loveable characters share what it's like to have a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan, as Buddy has the scan while Max explains it step by step.  Florida Hospital Celebration Health will receive the award at the 33rd Annual FREDDIE Awards, a star-studded gala known as the Oscars of Health and Medicine, honoring the best in the year’s health and medical productions on Nov. 2 in Philadelphia, Pa. 

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award and hope the recognition will promote awareness of this video series and the important messages it contains,” said Sally Grady, director of Imaging Services for Florida Hospital Celebration Health and creator of Max and Buddy.  “The DVD adventures of Max and Buddy really ease the anxiety associated with medical procedures for children and educate kids on common diseases through entertainment.  The videos will be distributed to healthcare facilities nationwide, allowing hospitals and doctors’ offices to use the videos to better prepare children for CT Scans, which may reduce the number of cancellations and the need for sedation.”
 
About Max and Buddy
Max is an energetic, upbeat adolescent boy.  Buddy is a cuddly, sweet-natured bear.  “The Bear Facts About CT Scan” is just the latest in a series of adventures these two lovable characters share.  Florida Hospital Celebration Health and Ballistic Pixel have created a DVD series that uses state-of-the-art animation to appeal specifically to children.  At Florida Hospital Celebration Health, children actually look forward to seeing Max and Buddy.  Not only do the kids watch the video before beginning their procedure, but when they walk through the doors of the CT examination area, they are greeted by a four-foot Buddy the Bear animatronic.  Then, after the exam, they can take home a Buddy the Bear plush toy or action figure.  And, when they get home they can log on to the interactive Max and Buddy web site.  In addition, the larger-than-life characters often interact with children at community events.  The Max and Buddy series offers original story lines, music, and 3-D character development with a “Pixar quality” to create a unique category of entertainment/education.  Books, CD’s, video games, huggable Buddy Bears, and action figures are just a few of the product extensions available with Max and Buddy.  The Max and Buddy characters, DVD series, and products are sponsored by Bayer Healthcare and the Robert Gamez Foundation.

About the FREDDIE Award
Thirty-three years ago, FREDDIE’s Founder Dr. Fredrick Gottlieb brought the worlds of medical science, education, and the arts together in what has become the preeminent international media competition devoted to educational health and medical productions. Each year, the competition attracts hundreds of submissions from around the world—documentaries, series, shorts, videos, web sites, and CD-ROMs—in 31 categories. These include Oncology, Diabetes, Fitness/Wellness, Infectious Disease, Health Education, Prevention, and Women’s Health. All of the submitted media aim to help people live healthier, longer lives. They provide answers for consumers as well as health professionals, and raise important questions, too. The stories they tell are courageous and inspirational, often documenting the lives of those who have overcome tremendous medical struggles and those who have helped them to do so. Go to www.theFREDDIES.com for more information.

About Florida Hospital Celebration Health
Florida Hospital Celebration Health is a destination hospital that specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures.  This cutting-edge health and wellness center provides inpatient and outpatient services, 24-hour emergency care, maternity, cardiac services, diagnostic catheterization, wellness programs, women's and men's health programs, as well as primary care and specialty physicians on-site. Florida Hospital Celebration Health is part of the Florida Hospital system.  With seven hospitals and 16 Centra Care locations, Florida Hospital is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country, caring for more than a million patients per year – that’s more than any other hospital in the country, according to the American Hospital Association.  The more than 1,900-bed system, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best hospitals in the country for the past nine years.