CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Fiona celebrated wild Wednesdays at the Cincinnati Zoo by video calling patients at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The Wednesday call is part of a collaboration the zoo is doing to brighten up the patients’ days at the children’s center.
“All patients can access Wild Wednesdays on our hospital TV channel (Channel 33) and interact with the caregiver using our telemedicine technology during the live zoom call,” said Kevin Altimier, media specialist at Child Life & Integrative Care at Cincinnati Children’s. “It’s a great way to take children’s minds off the hospital stay.”
Fiona video calls with patients from Cincinnati Children.(Cincinnati Zoo)
Due to the COVID protocols for patients, staff and animals, the zoo cannot hospitalize animals as it occasionally did before the pandemic. The advantage of these virtual calls is that more children can enjoy the visit and ask questions in a way that is convenient for them.
David, a 12-year-old patient at Cincinnati Children’s, enjoyed learning new things about Fiona while on dialysis treatment, according to the zoo.
“I didn’t know hippos had tails!” said David. “It was really cool to learn!”
Dialysis treatments can sometimes last several hours per visit, so Fiona’s appearance provided a much-needed distraction for patients of all ages.
The zoo is committed to showing patients their care, including personalized video visits as part of their Creature Connection program.
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