Programs recognized with a 2012 Telly Award on The Patient Channel are:

·  “Avoiding Hospital Readmissions-Heart Attack”

·  “Avoiding Hospital Readmissions-Heart Failure”

Both programs address important information and recovery guidelines to help keep hospitalized patients from returning to the hospital after discharge.

The program recognized with a 2012 Telly Award on The Newborn Channel is:

·  “A Mother’s Gift”

This program explains why breastfeeding is best for baby and Mom, and provides valuable tips on how to breastfeed and how to use a breast pump when Mom is away from baby.

The Telly Awards competition is in its 33rd year, and received nearly 11,000 entries from TV and cable networks, ad agencies, production companies and other content producers.

The judging council evaluates each program individually on its own merit. In addition to The Wellness Network, other former Telly winners include Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Nickelodeon, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Fox Sports Network, and Time Warner Cable.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,000 hospitals nationwide.

For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

Encouraging patients and their families to take an active role in their health care by becoming involved and informed is critical. In celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 4-10, a unique patient safety education program will be released to provide patients and their families with instant access to current patient safety videos at their bedside and while receiving care. The 2012 SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is a free offering developed to assist health care organizations in educating patients to help prevent medical errors. The campaign features videos from The Joint Commission’s Speak Up™ campaign, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kimberly-Clark, The Patient Channel® from The Wellness Network, and Safe Care Campaign. The goal of the SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is to save lives, prevent harm and help patients receive safer care.

The SAFE CARE Program utilizes free posters that hospitals can hang in patient rooms which allows patients and families to instantly access and watch safety videos by topic on their own smart phones by simply pointing a smart phone at a QR code on the poster, or texting the word “SAFE” to 411247 to receive a link to Safe Care’s safety video library. The nine short videos address the most common patient safety issues in hospitals such as hand hygiene, preventing infections, avoiding medication errors, patient falls, and more. Organizations are also able to customize the videos for a nominal fee.

“We are making important safety information available to patients and their families 24/7 with no training or time obligation whatsoever from the hospital care staff,” says Victoria Nahum, executive director, SAFE CARE Campaign. “These videos show how to receive the safest care possible and we put it right into the hands of the patients and their families’ right when they need it most — while they’re at the bedside.”

“We know that the more patients are involved in their care the less likely there will be a bad outcome such as a medication mix-up or a health care-associated infection,” says Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer, The Joint Commission. “This campaign gives patients the information they need to speak up and be active participants in their health care.”

Statements from campaign participants:
Being informed by asking the right questions, gathering information and gleaning knowledge is one of the most powerful ways for patients and caregivers to join with medical professionals to ensure safe and effective outcomes. As part of patient safety, we believe that infection prevention is everyone’s responsibility, so we are supporting the Safe Care Patient Safety Education Program designed to educate patients, caregivers and visitors about what to address when preparing for or receiving medical care. Kimberly-Clark has long been committed to providing the essentials that restore patients from crisis to better health and improve the quality of their lives. Our participation in this important initiative is yet another way in which we hope to reach consumers with potentially life-saving information and to further support medical professionals in helping them prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

- Joanne Bauer, president, Kimberly-Clark Health Care

The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, has proudly worked with the Safe Care Campaign and The Joint Commission to promote patient safety in hospitals since 2007. We create safety videos which help hospitals foster a culture of patient safety by airing continuously on both The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel in over 2,300 hospitals. The safety messaging is reinforced in patient handouts we provide to hospitals. We are thrilled to leverage new technologies to help hospitals extend the reach of these important messages to patients before, during and after their hospital stay.

- Dave Ross, COO, The Wellness Network

Patients have a right to know that they are receiving safe care. We hope that educational materials, like these, will empower patients to start a discussion with their healthcare provider about what can be done to prevent infections during their medical care.

- Arjun Srinivasan, M.D., associate director of Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others. The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

Available free of charge, Newborn Channel To-Go offers videos on newborn care, breastfeeding, the maternity hospital experience, and immunizations. Compatible with iPhone®, Android™, Blackberry® and other smartphone platforms, these essential how-to videos are now available to moms wherever they want, whenever they want.

“We’ve offered trusted, engaging, parenting content to new moms at hospital bedside for nearly 20 years. Hospitals asked for our help in extending the reach and benefits of our channel to moms before, during and after their hospital stay,” said Dave Ross, Chief Operating Officer of The Wellness Network.

The Newborn Channel and its sister channel The Patient Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.
Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,400 hospitals nationwide.

For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

The programming will feature Broadway Previews, Broadway Profiles and Broadway on Tour programming, and will be available as full episodes as well as short form theatrical trailers with star interviews. Additional features include Broadway opening nights, exclusive star interviews and What’s Hot on Broadway, hosted by the Broadway Channel’s Maribel Aber.

“With Mag Rack, we are able to showcase The Broadway Channel family of programming to the entire country shining the bright lights of Broadway to audiences whenever they choose to watch,” said Matthew Hege, Vice President, The Broadway Channel.

“Mag Rack viewers will now have access to a behind-the-scenes look at Broadway, giving them a glimpse of the stars and stories of the Great White Way,” said Joe Covey, Mag Rack CEO.

About Broadway Channel
The Broadway Channel is a full-service multimedia company that produces and distributes video and television programming for Broadway, Off-Broadway, Broadway on Tour, Las Vegas, Performing Art Centers and Regional Theatres nationwide. The Broadway Channel family of programming includes Broadway Previews, OFF, Broadway on Tour, West End Previews, Broadway Profiles and What’s Hot on Broadway. The Broadway Channel’s digital network provides daily programming on a dedicated channel into over 37,000 Manhattan hotel rooms at 74 New York hotels. The Broadway Channel network airs theatrical programming into many media outlets including Time Warner Cable, TIVO, Samsung, Sprint TV, Apple’s iTunes, Dishonline, Ovation TV, Etisalat International and JetBlue Airways. More information at www.broadwaychannel.com

About Mag Rack
Available in more than 30 million homes, Mag Rack is a free VOD television network carried by MSOs, including Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS, Charter, DirecTV and Dish. Mag Rack is dedicated to helping viewers make the most of life with educational and informative content that inspires. Mag Rack is owned by Interactivation, a New York City-based media company. More information is available at: www.magrack.com

According to SBTS, National NBS Awareness Month offers the opportunity to further inform the public of newborn screening which can prevent the serious complications of undiagnosed underlying disorders in children. The goal is to raise the awareness of newborn screening to the general public by continuous, ongoing education about newborn screening. Throughout this past year, The Newborn Channel was host to special programming dedicated to newborn screening, including a PSA featuring actor Scott Baio and his wife Renee, who recently had a personal experience with newborn screening when their baby daughter was born.

“During September, our hope is make a special effort to reach the more than 4 million families who are expecting babies this year,” said Jill Levy-Fisch, Foundation President. “There is a crucial need for education around the topic of newborn screening, and we are dedicated to making sure new parents ensure their newborn is screened comprehensively and successfully.”

“We are passionate about this cause, and remain dedicated in support of SBTS’s plight to educate families about newborn screening,” said Dr. Tanya Altmann, medical advisor to The Newborn Channel. “We look forward to featuring a segment throughout the year on the Channel, ensuring we reach as many births as possible.”

The Newborn Channel and its sister channel The Patient Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.

Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

The programs are:

·        “Mommy Don’t Smoke”-an informative and empowering smoking cessation program

·        “Special Care For Your Preemie”- a program to help parents of babies born early to understand and manage the unique health issues of their newborns

The Telly Awards competition is in its 32nd year, and received over 13,000 entries from TV and cable networks, ad agencies, production companies and other content producers.

(NEW YORK, NY) July 26, 2011 — The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, today announced a new animated series produced by The Joint Commission to be featured on the network. The videos, titled “Speak Up: Take Medication Safely” and “Speak Up: Prevent errors in your care,” will encourage millions of patients in hospitals across the country to speak up and be active participants in their health care.

“These fun videos have a serious purpose — letting patients of all literacy levels know it is okay and expected that they ask questions about their care,” said Dave Ross, chief operating officer for The Wellness Network. “We are dedicated to arming patients with empowering and life-saving information at every opportunity, and distributing these safety messages over our TV channels helps hospitals get the messages right to the bedside when patients should be thinking about these things.”

Produced by The Joint Commission, the Speak Up series features entertaining 60-second videos intended as public service announcements. The first videos in the series debuted in March 2011, and in addition to The Wellness Network’s group of more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide, they also air on The Joint Commission’s YouTube Channel, and are accessible to accredited organizations and other interested stakeholders that want to promote the Speak Up message.

“The Joint Commission’s Speak Up campaigns strongly encourage patients to be active participants in their health care.  The Speak Up videos offer helpful tips and provide important guidance on how patients should get involved,” says Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer, The Joint Commission.  “Our goal is to help patients understand they are a valuable and key member of the health care team and should never be intimidated to ‘Speak Up’ on their own behalf or that of a loved one.”

The Joint Commission’s award winning Speak Up program features brochures, posters and buttons on a variety of patient safety topics. The national program urges patients to take a role in preventing health care errors by becoming active, involved and informed participants on the health care team. Since its launch in 2002, the Speak Up program has grown to include 17 campaign brochures and three posters, as well as Spanish language versions of all brochures. Free downloadable files of all Speak Up videos, brochures and posters (including Spanish language versions of the brochures) are available on The Joint Commission website at http://www.jointcommission.org/speakup.aspx. Speak Up brochures and posters also are available for purchase through Joint Commission Resources at (877) 223-6866 or online at www.jcrinc.com.

The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health and wellness media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay. Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network. For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv

About The Joint Commission
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

New program educates expecting parents on safe sleep environments as new federal guidelines are enforced

NEW YORK, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, today announced a new crib safety video created by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) together with Keeping Babies Safe (KBS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) called “Safe Sleep for Babies,” designed to educate new and expecting parents on crib safety and help to reinforce new federal requirements that go into effect on June 28, 2011.

“We are very pleased that this life saving information will get into the hands of those who need it most and at an important time when new parents are making critical choices about how to care for their newborn after leaving the hospital,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “The safety messages in the video will help ensure parents know how to create a safe sleep environment for their baby and keep up to date on vital recall information.”

The video, narrated by renowned journalist and mom Joan Lunden, will be featured on The Newborn Channel through its network of more than 1,000 hospitals across the country, and will demonstrate how to keep babies safe and sound in cribs, bassinets and play yards.

“It’s especially important to have this national discussion during economic hard times, when families are trying to make their dollars stretch and it’s not uncommon to pass down older cribs and playpens to younger children.  That unfortunately can be a recipe for disaster.  That is why I got involved in this public awareness campaign, to help bring the latest safest information to parents across the country to keep their children safe,” said Lunden.

This education effort is part of CPSC’s Safe Sleep Initiative, a multi-pronged effort aimed at reducing deaths and injuries associated with unsafe sleep environments. In addition to this education effort, CPSC’s Safe Sleep Initiative includes the development of new crib standards, warnings about drop-side cribs, sleep positioners, and infant slings, and the recall of millions of cribs in the past five years.

Beginning June 28, 2011 all cribs sold in the United States must meet new federal requirements for overall crib safety, including:

• Improve Slat Strength
• Improve Mattress Support Durability
• Prohibit Traditional Drop Sides
• Require Tougher Testing
• Make Hardware Stronger

“The new U.S. federal crib requirements are a huge step forward in ensuring that our babies have safe cribs to sleep in,” saidJoyce Davis, President of Keeping Babies Safe.  “These more stringent manufacturing requirements, combined with the information parents will learn in viewing our ‘Safe Sleep for Babies’ video are sure to result in a safer sleep environment for babies.  The Newborn Channel is an effective way to disseminate this critical information and is by far the most influential network to reach new mothers.  We are thrilled by their commitment to bring the ‘Safe Sleep for Babies’ video to their audience.”

“Education campaigns like this reinforce our commitment to providing a learning environment in the hospital that not only empowers patients, but also arms hospital educators with critical information,” said Dr. Tanya Altmann, medical advisor to The Newborn Channel. “We are honored to partner with these organizations to help educate new parents about how to create the safest sleep environments for their babies.”

The Newborn Channel and its sister channel The Patient Channel reach nearly 80 percent of new moms and 20 million patients annually. Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network

The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

For more information, visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv

According to the American Hospital Association, National Hospital Week began in 1921 to build a culture of open communication between hospitals and the communities they serve, and is now the nation’s largest health care event that celebrates health care professionals.

“This week celebrates people who care,” said Dave Ross, Chief Operating Officer of The Wellness Network. “Every day we appreciate hospitals’ continued commitment to empowering patients and their families with information about important health conditions, providing high quality patient care and improving the health of the communities they serve.”

The Patient Channel and its sister channel The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, together reaching more than 20 million patients and their caregivers and nearly 80 percent of new moms annually. The Channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during their hospital stay.

Additional information about The Wellness Network and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at visit www.thewellnessnetwork.tv.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts round-the-clock baby care and postpartum programming for new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

Tips for successful small and midsize M&A
With market heating up, knowing the target industry is key.
By ELAINE POFELDT

The past few years were the perfect time for Joe Covey and Matthew Davidge to go on a buying spree at their media company, Interactivation.

In 2008, when many investors were retreating to the sidelines of mergers and acquisitions, the partners snapped up Mag Rack, a video-on-demand network offering shows on topics such as cooking and pet care, from Cablevision. The following year, they bought Concert.TV, another VOD network, from an investment group and flipped it. Finally, they scooped up The Newborn Channel and The Patient Channel from NBC in 2010.

Most of Interactivation’s transactions are in the $1 million to $10 million range. Its founders remain on the lookout for other deals, and for a simple reason.

“It’s lucrative,” said Mr. Covey, a technology and media entrepreneur. He and Mr. Davidge, formerly a management consultant at Bain & Co. and strategy consultant at MTV, are their own financiers.

Read the full article here: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110401/SMALLBIZ/110409999

NEW YORK, March 15, 2011 – The Wellness Network, parent company of The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, announced today the findings of a quantitative and qualitative, three-phase study, titled “A Day in the Life of a Hospital Patient.” The study was conducted to determine the overall patient experience, mindset and willingness to receive health and wellness information during hospitalization and after discharge.

As an extension of the annual viewership research fielded by The Patient Channel, The Wellness Network commissioned GfK Research North America to conduct in an in-depth consumer study to help better understand patients’ in-hospital experience and the role The Patient Channel plays in their experiences. Participants were engaged throughout a multi-stage process: phase one – 239 in-hospital interviews; phase two – 92 at-home telephone interviews and phase three – at-home qualitative interviews with 15 patients.

The final phase of the study included videotaped interviews in or near the homes of 15 respondents across ten states. Participants were pre-screened by professional ethnographers, and included five men and 10 women, ages 31 to 79 years, who faced a variety of medical conditions. These final, in-depth interviews provided even greater insight into the patient’s perspective of his or her hospital experience, interaction with, and attitude toward The Patient Channel.

This comprehensive research revealed several characteristics of the hospital experience and viewing habits of patients:

• Television is valuable to patients during their hospital stay; often a time of anxiety, uncertainty and loneliness. Patients often turn on the television soon after arriving and watch an average of 28 hours over the course of their stay, with nearly 6 hours (or greater than 20 percent) spent watching The Patient Channel.

• In hospitals that carry The Patient Channel, patients have an improved overall perception of the facility and its level of care for patients.

• Patients are highly receptive to The Patient Channel’s content, independent of a patient’s initial curiosity about his or her own condition. Respondents ranked this source of health information third behind their health care professional and family/friends, ahead of TV News, support groups and the internet.

• Most patients find The Patient Channel’s programs interesting and worthwhile, with information presented in a clear, understandable, practical, reassuring and comforting manner.

• Some respondents absorb and recall a substantial amount of program information long after their discharge. Sixty-seven percent say the ability to watch The Patient Channel after discharge would keep them more motivated to stay on their treatment plan.

• Patients consider The Patient Channel similar to in-home educational cable programming such as The Learning Channel, The Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, D Life, The History Channel and Biography. Further, viewers feel The Patient Channel is more educational than other health programming they see on cable.

“A hospital stay can be a scary, foreign experience, so patients are looking to connect with something familiar,” said Suzanne Fleming, SVP for The Wellness Network. “This study shows that The Patient Channel, presented in a hospital setting, offers a unique platform for health care providers and advertisers to connect with patients when they are most receptive.”

The Patient Channel and its sister channel The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers, and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The channels are valuable educational tools for health care professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay.

Additional information about The Patient Channel and details about programming, sponsorship opportunities and more can be found at www.thepatientchannel.com.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by health care professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts baby care and postpartum programming for new parents, reaching 60 percent of new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network, a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by The Wellness Network.

NEW YORK, February 23, 2011 – Interactivation Health Networks, which acquired The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel from NBC last year, announced today that it is changing its name to The Wellness Network. The new name reflects the company’s focus on providing unique, unparalleled and relevant health and wellness content, and advertising solutions, benefiting its three core constituents – advertisers, hospitals and consumers. The Wellness Network properties, The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, will retain their same brand names.

The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel represent the largest out-of-home health media network in the United States, annually reaching 20 million patients and their caregivers and 3.1 million new moms, respectively. The Channels are valuable educational tools for healthcare professionals to empower patients and their families with information about their conditions and general wellness concerns during a hospital stay.

“Our award-winning education and lifestyle management programming is an increasingly valuable resource for both hospitals and patients as healthcare providers seek to leverage technologies and education to improve the quality of healthcare,” said Dave Ross, COO of The Wellness Network. “Whether it was the birth of a baby or an unexpected health event that led to a hospital visit, patients all want to recover quickly, stay healthy and prevent future illness. Our Channels’ focus on wellness aligns the healthcare provider’s, hospital’s and patient’s goals.”

With unmatched access to highly attractive demographics, The Wellness Network also enables healthcare advertisers to align their brands with award-winning content that is trusted and preferred by consumers. For example, viewers rank The Patient Channel third (behind their healthcare professional and family/friends) as a key source of health information and well ahead of broadcast television news programs, newspapers, radio and the internet. 67% of viewers feel that watching The Patient Channel motivated them to stay on their treatment plan, increasing patient compliance with their healthcare provider’s program.

“The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel allow brands to specifically-target their marketing campaigns to engaged consumers who are open to receiving brand messages and ready to act,” said Suzanne Fleming, SVP at The Wellness Network. “We connect our advertisers directly with their target audience at critical life moments alongside programming aimed at promoting a better lifestyle and maintaining good health.”

More information about The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, as well as details about programming, sponsorship opportunities, and more can be found via the hyperlinks below.

The Wellness Network also partners with Joint Commission Resources to produce and distribute the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Education Network.

About The Wellness Network
The Wellness Network owns The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, the most comprehensive in-hospital TV networks. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas, the Channels provide viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by healthcare professionals. The Newborn Channel broadcasts baby care and postpartum programming for new parents, reaching 60 percent of new moms. The Patient Channel features both condition-specific and preventative health programming to empower and inform patients. The Channels are available in more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. The Wellness Network is also a partner in the Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network which is a continuing medical education series for health care professionals produced by Joint Commission Resources and distributed by the Wellness Network.

For more information, visit www.thenewbornchannel.com, www.thepatientchannel.com and www.jcrqsn.com

The joint campaign will kick off in December with the simultaneous launching of a series of heart health related programming online and the distribution of four million educational pamphlets to hospitals, free of charge.

The programming will include two new educational videos, “Stroke: The Road to Recovery” and “Controlling High Blood Pressure” produced by the Patient Channel in association with the American Heart/ American Stroke Association. AHA physicians and President Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., were interviewed for the programs, which feature patients’ stories of survival and recovery and their doctor’s practical advice on preventing and treating these life-threatening conditions. The new videos will be added to The Patient Channel schedule, and will air in over 1600 U.S. hospitals starting in January 2011.

“Many people first become aware of their heart health while in the hospital,” said Dave Ross, CEO of the Patient Channel. “Our work with the American Heart/American Stroke Association enables us to reach those patients through multiple programs broadcast each week full of expert advice on how people can prevent future heart attacks and strokes and resume an active, healthy life.”

Those programs, along with eight other Patient Channel programs, were developed with the input and review of The American Heart/American Stroke Association’s Science and Medical Review Committee, ensuring that the programming is consistent with the American Heart/ American Stroke Association’s clinical guidelines.

“We are delighted that The Patient Channel supports The American Heart Association’s mission to promote cardiovascular health to families and communities,” said American Heart Association President Ralph L. Sacco, M.D. “Together, we can get people back to a better quality of life and so they can perform their activities of daily living.”

For a full list of the heart, stroke and cholesterol programming running on The Patient Channel, as well as other details about The Patient Channel’s educational offering and platform, visit www.thepatientchannel.com.

For more information and tools promoting cardiovascular health, visit The American Heart Association’s www.heart.org and www.HeartHub.org

About The Patient Channel
The Patient Channel, owned by Interactivation Health Networks, LLC, is the most comprehensive in-hospital TV network. Delivered directly to patient rooms and waiting areas in over 1600 hospitals, the Patient Channel provides viewers with original, award-winning health programs and advertisers with the unique ability to integrate brand messaging with content that is compelling and endorsed by healthcare professionals. The Patient Channel features more than 50 condition-specific and preventative health programs to empower and inform patients. For more information, visit www.thepatientchannel.com

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Our mission is to build healthier lives by preventing, treating and defeating these diseases – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit www.heart.org

InteractiveXML can drive Flash video interactions on brand websites, blogs or within Facebook. Examples of InteractiveXML applications can be viewed here at www.frixxer.com.

Interactivation will also provide scripting, technical and deployment support at no charge for the first developers of ‘hyperinteractive’ video applications. InteractiveXML is being offered for free with the expectation that once developers get their hands on it, they will push the creative envelope on what it means for a video to be interactive.

“Shooting interactive demos for our clients was quick, fast and a ton of fun,” said Seth Hart, Director of Activation at agency PHD.

“The video player is one of the least interactive elements of a web page,” said Matthew Davidge, President of Interactivation. “You can start and stop a video ad and sometimes you can click an overlay, but until now fully-interactive video experiences haven’t loaded and started fast enough to be served as ad units. Our tool allows interactive video experiences to load and start within a second, drawing the consumer quickly into brand/video interaction.”

InteractiveXML’s scripting language is XML-compliant, and capable of integrating video, SMS, email, phone and IM. It has been integrated with Lumenvox’s voice technology (www.lumenvox.com) for through-the-browser voice recognition and Voxeo (www.voxeo.com) for telephony and IM applications.

The InteractiveXML toolkit also allows the incorporation of branching logic, variables, web service calls and other ‘out of the box’ functionality to make rich interactive videos fast to build, test and deploy. In addition, InteractiveXML applications have ‘memory’ and can track usage in real time.

An image of the Seth Hart/phd video application can be found here: http://www.interactivexml.net/resources/1/seth.png.

About Interactivation
Interactivation is a New York City-based media company that delivers highly interactive and personalized content to consumers through its proprietary interactive technology.

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire – November 9, 2010) –  Interactivation, a New York City-based media company, has launched InteractiveXML, a free web-based interactive video scripting toolkit (available at www.interactivexml.com and www.interactivexml.net) which allows web developers to quickly build video applications that can, interact with consumers’ clicks, touch, text and voice.

Examples of interactive video applications using InteractiveXML can be viewed at www.frixxer.com.

Interactivation additionally provides free creative, scripting and deployment support to anyone developing “hyperinteractive” videos.

Beyond YouTube’s Annotations product which offers clickable “choose-your-own-adventure” experiences, InteractiveXML allows developers to incorporate variables, branching logic, web service calls, screen overlays and more, to produce rich interactive video experiences that can live anywhere a Flash Player can be embedded, including Facebook.

“Our web-based tool allows developers to focus on the scripting and creativity of the user experience rather than the mechanics of building and deploying,” said Matthew Davidge, President of Interactivation. “That makes development and deployment fast. When we shoot a demo for an advertising agency, we aim to shoot, cut, build and deploy in three days from script to screen.”

InteractiveXML has been integrated with Lumenvox’s voice technology (www.lumenvox.com) for through-the-browser voice recognition and Voxeo (www.voxeo.com) for telephony and IM applications.

“The video player and the video experience are one of the least interactive elements of a web page. You can start and stop videos and sometimes you can click an overlay or a hotspot, but not much else,” continued Davidge. “With InteractiveXML, you can talk to a video, telephone it or email it and it will respond to you in video in real time.”

InteractiveXML is an evolution of technology deployed for an interactive Beavis and Butt-head phone call campaign that the Interactivation founders built and deployed for MTV back in 2006.

A downloadable screenshot of InteractiveXML can be found at http://www.interactivexml.net/resources/1/pieceofcode.jpg and a screenshot of the development tool is at http://www.interactivexml.net/resources/1/ivxmltool.jpg.

About Interactivation
Interactivation is a New York City-based media company that delivers highly interactive and personalized content to consumers through its proprietary interactive technology.