In preparing for Freeman Health System’s (FHS) neonatal intensive care unit’s (NICU) 20^th anniversary their development team began looking for a gift they and their national and local partners could bring to the party. Angel Eye Camera Systems, a secure web-based camera system that allows parents to remotely see their child in the NICU via a live, 24-hour feed, was a gift that was right on target. This innovative tool would allow parents to stay connected to their child in the NICU, while meeting life obligations such as work and family. It would also recognize and educate partners to the incredible impact their dollars have on the community.

We talked with Blake Bard, Chief Development Officer of Freemen Health System, to learn more about Angel Eye Camera Systems and this best practice.

What is the best practice?

Leveraging both Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ corporate partners and local partners to generate excitement around the campaign and increase the fundraising total, as well as to help the partners recognize the impact the dollars raised are making in the community.

What results did you see from implementing the best practice?

The focus on a goal of installing the Angel Eye cameras was a great way to bring constituents together. FHS engaged both internal and external stakeholders, as well as national and local partners, which created great synergy in their community.

After two months of setting the specific campaign goal, FHS had funded and installed 12 cameras in their NICU. They later approached Walmart, Dairy Queen and Casey’s to complete outfitting all 24 NICU beds with Angel Eye.

Because of the familiarity with the hospital’s success of this project, Sam’s Club carried the momentum to a first-place finish with the highest store fundraising total in 2017 (nearly $69,000). Recently, FHS followed this ranking with another number one finish in the nation with the highest fundraising Casey’s General Store location in the 2018 campaign.

How did you determine you needed to implement this best practice?

Bard reports, “we knew we wanted to offer a gift that would resonate with our caregivers and once we chose Angel Eye we discovered we could leverage our corporate partners as well. We effectively demonstrated to each location the benefit that Angel Eye would bring to the community and how they could help us accomplish it. The wide-spread reach of our partners helped us saturate our market with support, from associates to customers, we had thousands of supporters helping us reach our campaign goal.”

Bringing a new technology to both the health system and to their market, FHS understood the immense internal challenges they faced — from install to execution. However, they also realized the excellent opportunity this situation afforded them to deepen their relationships with their partners. They reached out to a local utility company and asked them to partner to help offset the IT and utility costs associated with the project. They positioned it as a combined community effort to bring a cutting-edge technology to our hospital in celebration of this milestone anniversary.

How do you think this could be best implemented in other markets and at other hospitals?

“When you have a specific need don’t underestimate the power of rallying your entire network and community,” Bard suggests. “Even though most of the CMN Hospitals dollars raised are unrestricted, providing associates a specific goal for the campaign makes asking every customer more natural and often they are more willing to ask. Plus, other national partners are paying attention. They feed off each other and enjoy being part of a great community of supporters that are making a difference for our children.”

Information about Angel Eye Camera Systems:

Angel Eye Camera Systems was founded in 2013 with the support of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) BioVentures. Angel Eye was designed to encourage bonding between parent and child, incorporating a one-way, low-decibel audio system, so parents can talk to the child. The system is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act because it does not store any patient information or record the video stream. Parents can allow access to as many as 20 loved ones who wish to see their baby. Once an infant is discharged, all accounts associated with the infant are removed from the system.

President – Steve Bethel
www.angeleyecameras.com

If you have any best practices in your market that would be helpful to your colleagues, please reach out to Emily Cawley, Manager, Hospital Relations at ecawley@cmnhospitals.org to schedule an interview.