Best Practice Spotlight: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Opens New Hospital Facility
Building Engagement with CMN Partners and Programs During a New Hospital’s Construction
In the fall of 2020, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta embarked on the most ambitious journey in the institution’s history. The Never Settle: A Campaign for Kids was publicly launched with a bold goal: to raise $1 billion to expand our ability to treat more children, drive cutting-edge medical care, increase research efforts, and construct a state-of-the-art, 19-story facility—Arthur M. Blank Hospital.
As a proud CMN Member Hospital, we are deeply grateful for the unwavering commitment of our partners. We know we can rely on the support of organizations like Costco each May, or celebrate the generosity of the UGA Miracle student leaders every spring. When we initiated the Never Settle Campaign and began construction of Arthur M. Blank Hospital, we recognized a rare opportunity to showcase how the contributions of our CMN partners directly transform pediatric care, ensuring a lasting impact for generations of children to come.
From the moment construction began until the hospital’s official opening, we worked tirelessly to highlight the tangible impact of our campaign and express our gratitude to our partners. Throughout this period, we actively engaged with our CMN partners and programs, maximizing opportunities to share our progress and deepen community involvement.
Demonstrating Impact
Given the scale of the Never Settle Campaign, we made it a priority to create spaces that helped our partners visualize the future of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Along with detailed collateral that outlined the structure of the campaign and features of the new hospital, we developed a dedicated “Mission Center” on our new campus. This space included replicas of actual hospital rooms, a boardroom for presentations, and an immersive virtual reality room where guests could wear VR goggles and take a virtual tour of the hospital before it was even completed. We hosted regular events at the Mission Center to engage our partners in the campaign’s vision.
Additionally, we were fortunate to have the resources to create a detailed drone video tour of the completed space (using actual Children’s staff as “actors”). This 8-minute-long video showcases highlights of the new hospital, and has been a fantastic tool to present at partner visits or to simply share digitally. simply share digitally.
Sharing Gratitude
In addition to ongoing engagement efforts, two major events were held to celebrate this historic milestone and steward both CMN partners and hospital programs. The first was a Community Open House, where over 600 community partners had the opportunity to experience a self-guided tour of Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Attendees ranged from Walmart associates to Phi Mu sorority sisters, each experiencing firsthand the incredible new spaces dedicated to children’s health.
The second event was a more exclusive Grand Opening Celebration, designed to honor the in-hospital recognition of our donors and partners. The event featured a meaningful program led by Children’s Leadership, followed by personalized, special tours where guests could view their specific recognition pieces. Invitations were extended to key champions, including influential managers and regional executives, who played a crucial role in our success.
Strengthening Engagement
On the hospital’s opening day, our External Communications team outdid themselves in making our supporters feel like a major part of the hospital’s opening day. Through various social media channels, our partners could witness in real time how more than 200 patients were moved from our Egleston Hospital location to the new hospital in under 12 hours.
Now that Arthur M. Blank Hospital is officially open, we continue to rely on our proven methods of donor tours and patient engagement activities to deepen relationships with our partners. Our commitment to providing exceptional experiences for our supporters remains unwavering, as we strive to ensure that every guest leaves feeling more inspired than ever by the difference their contributions make in the lives of children.
To connect and learn more, please email Janine Musholt, President of Childrne’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation at Janine.Musholt@choa.org.
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