First Impressions - Memorial Hospital of South Bend

This year marks the 10th birthday for MemorialChildren’s Hospital’s HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum.A radically different model in the field of healtheducation, our mission is “infectiously contaminatingkids of all ages everywhere to learn, have fun andmake great life choices ... Let the epidemic begin!”A decade ofinfectious educationFOUNDING PARTNERS:Harry and Jeanette Weinberg FoundationDennis and Mary Lou SchwartzJames and Julia SchwartzThe Shields Family:William S. and Kathryn L. Shieldsand Barbara Shields ByrumE. Blair and Jane J. Warner and FamilyMemorial Hospital AuxiliaryJunior League of South BendMemorial Health FoundationAnd, according to recent studies, we have beenstupendously successful: Over 90,000 people had aHealthWorks! experience in 2009 alone. In 2006, thenon-profit organization Mid-continent Research forEducation and Learning conducted a formal,independent evaluation of HealthWorks!They found that even a single visit to the museumpositively impacts children’s ability to make healthdecisions and their actual health behavior.“Our original intent for HealthWorks! was to be astrategic investment in the long-term health of ourcommunity,” says Memorial Health System Presidentand CEO Phil Newbold. “Ten years of talented staffworking in the HealthWorks! ‘Lab’ have proven that thepower of ‘innovation as a core competency’ can beunique and transformative in the work that all of us atMemorial do.”A child who, as a kindergartener, visited the museum inits first year is now in high school, more prepared tomake healthy choices. Soon, HealthWorks! kids will bein the workforce, revitalizing the well-being of thecommunity around them in countless ways.PULSE › Memorial Health System › 574-647-6800016Memorial administrators andcommunity stakeholders visit 28different children’s educationfacilities nationwide, but Presidentand CEO Phil Newbold explains, “Wecouldn’t fi nd a model that possesseda consistently effective approach toteaching health that was interestingfor children.”1996Second floor of plannedMemorial LeightonHealthPlex designated“community education area.”1997Community education space given thename HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum,promising to make innovation a majorleverage point for improving quality oflife of the community. Designconsultant Jeff Kennedy andMemorial’s Vice President of MarketingDiane Stover work with communityleaders, educators, and kids.1997-99 2000 2001 2002 2003HealthWorks! grand opening featuring“Bill Nye the Science Guy.” Over 3,000 kidsand parents attend the historic celebration.Area schools begin field trips, takingadvantage of the new modes of learning andexceeding even the expected attendance.HealthWorks! beginsoffering human growthand developmentprograms for parentsand families throughpartnerships withlocal schools.Unveiling of Vincent’sTree House on exhibitfloor, an offering topre-school childrenand toddlers.HealthWorks! launchesoutreach programmingwith the one and onlyHealthWorks! HUMMER.