Bright Colors, Playful Characters, Bring Smiles While Easing Children's Anxieties in Unfamiliar Healthcare Situations

    FRASER, MI, March 08, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Healthmark Industries, Avanti Press, and Fathead have together created themed areas featuring whimsical, universally relatable Avanti animal characters in designated locations at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where children might be more apprehensive for care, including the surgery waiting room area, along with some patient rooms and clinics. In addition, PPE themed scrub caps with these happy Avanti animal characters are being provided to staff in the children's operating room areas to help create a fun distraction for children in preparation for surgery. Children will also be able to select animal character themed stickers which they can use as a badge of courage on patient gowns, IV bags, PICC line sleeves, casts, and other areas. All images are being provided by Avanti Press, the Detroit-based publisher whose humorous characters are featured on greeting cards and numerous consumer goods sold nationwide and around the world. Avanti's bright, bold, photographic characters are featured in select areas of the hospital to help alleviate stress for children undergoing treatment.

Healthmark Industries envisioned this as a way to provide children with a fun, calming distraction within a hospital, doctor's office or dentist's office and would allow them to create a bond with hospital teams and focus on something other than their illness.

"Michigan based, Avanti Press was the perfect fit for this objective," said Ralph Basile, Healthmark Industries' Vice President of Marketing and Regulatory Affairs. Their upbeat character humor connects with people young and old, from all walks of life. Avanti's Licensing Agency, Lisa Marks Associates, saw the opportunity and helped bring us together to develop a meaningful program that would put a smile on patients' faces." Healthmark Industries, having worked in the past with Fathead to create their bigger than life signage for hospital staff messaging, knew it was a natural that these three companies would select a Michigan based children's hospital (University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital). "To test this new concept to determine what resonates with pediatric patients and make them comfortable in an unfamiliar environment," said Basile.

"We currently design a variety of PPE for hospitals and have incorporated versions that allow staff (when permissible) to include individual images on scrub caps, which allows them to showcase their personality. We thought this was a natural opportunity to be able to extend this to healthcare workers interacting with children in environments that may help the child feel less apprehensive and more at ease in various healthcare environments they aren't accustomed to," said Basile.

"C.S. Mott Children's Hospital is grateful for these generous donations from Healthmark Industries, Avanti Press, and Fathead," said Luanne Thomas Ewald, Chief Operating Officer, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital. "Hospitals can seem intimidating to children, and these joyful images in our halls and on the scrub caps of providers can offer some comfort and happiness for patients and families. During times of fear or uncertainty, something fun can make the difference."

The businesses came together to develop this concept and approached the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital to test this concept on a complimentary basis. Based upon feedback, the concept will be offered to other hospitals, physicians, dental and veterinary establishments to purchase for their healthcare environments.

"We are thrilled to support this project," said Chip Owen, Executive Vice President for Avanti Press. "We hope our characters help to brighten the day for patients, family and staff at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital."

"We, at Fathead, truly believe that transforming spaces can bring warmth into an environment and create comforting spaces," said Tony Saunders, Owner & CEO of Fathead. Our high-quality decals/decor dovetail well with Healthmark Industries mission and we are grateful to be a part of this empowering opportunity. What better way to help ease the anxiety of a child in the hospital than creating larger than life designs that bring light into the hospital environment."

The three companies will work with University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital to evaluate response and gain input from patients, as they move forward with this concept introducing it to other locations.

About University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital offers leading-edge pediatric care in a 1.1 million square foot, 348-bed facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The 12-story building is also home to Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital, as well as adult and pediatric blood and marrow transplant programs. The hospital features a dedicated pediatric emergency department, an on-site Ronald McDonald House, and provides specialized services not offered anywhere else in Michigan for newborns, children, and pregnant women.

C.S. Mott Children's Hospital was recently rated the top children's hospital in Michigan and one of the best in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is the only one in the state to be nationally ranked in all 10 of the pediatric specialties evaluated annually by the publication. In addition to earning the No.1 ranking for Michigan, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital is rated a top three hospital in the Midwest in the debut year of state and regional rankings.

About Healthmark Industries Co. Inc.
Since 1969, Healthmark Industries Company, Inc. has developed and marketed innovative solutions to aid healthcare facilities in their delivery of surgical instruments and other lifesaving medical devices to patients. Healthmark Industries' mission is to continue to innovate, support and serve the healthcare provider industry and support services that make it possible to deliver quality healthcare. Visit www.hmark.com for more information.

About Avanti Press
Founded in 1980, Avanti Press is a Detroit-based publisher of Avanti, the Global Humor Brand(TM) as well as the America and A*Press greeting card collections. The company presents its everyday and seasonal card collections in leading regional and national retail outlets as well as independent outlets throughout the US and Canada. Translated into over 20 languages and distributed around the world, the company also licenses its content to a variety of leading manufacturers of general merchandise categories. Visit avantipress.com for more information.

About Fathead
Fathead is a company that specializes in custom and officially licensed decor. Fathead brings out the fun at home or at work and share your moments with others. Whether you are decorating a room or hosting a party, the company is here to help you go as big and bold as you want to go. After all, 'fandom' is what Fathead does best. Fathead will make you love, larger than life and help you go big with it and seize the moment. Visit www.fathead.com for more information.

About LMA, Inc.
LMA is a creative, full-service Licensing and Marketing Agency, focused on strategic brand building, long-term equity enhancement and revenue generation. LMA is unique in bringing clients innovative licensing expertise from the world's leading entertainment companies to develop powerful, cohesive, turnkey licensing programs. LMA consists of a coalition of experts and industry leaders in the fields of Licensing and Merchandising, Creative Development and Design, Product Development, Retail Business Development and Multimedia Brand Extensions. For more information, please visit www.LMA-Inc.com.

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