Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Bringing the world of healthcare opportunities to life for South Florida kids When kids imagine healthcare, what do they see?
In the heart of South Florida, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital (JDCH) stands as a beacon of pediatric excellence, providing top-tier medical services to give children a healthy, bright future. A sponsorship opportunity arose for JDCH to create two pivotal hands-on learning environments for fifth and eighth graders at the Junior Achievement World of South Florida.
Through its programming, Junior Achievement (JA) of South Florida, the largest JA in the country with 1.2 million students, empowers youth with the knowledge, ability and confidence to navigate their futures, drive our economy and lead our community. With both JDCH and JA aligned in their commitment to fostering brighter futures for our youngest citizens, Starmark embraced the opportunity with excitement.
Exploring healthcare with the heart, the mind, and a spirit of fun
Throughout the installation, we crafted interactive experiences. Two distinct spaces and a large common area offered us an extensive canvas. Once we designed, floor plans were used to build precise scale models in VR and test concepts in 3D.
VR/IRL
VR/IRL
VR/IRL
For BizTown, we transformed the space into a vibrant healthcare microcosm under an umbrella theme entitled “Wellness Begins With You.” The goal was to teach fifth-graders how a hospital works in an economy, and at the same time help them learn about the importance of overall well-being.
As children navigated the space, some became citizens of the town, while others adopted roles as healthcare professionals. The citizen kids met with the hospital ‘CEO’ kid, delved into hospital finance with the ‘CFO’, got wellness checks from a nurse, consulted a doctor, peeked into the world of medical imaging with a radiologist, and even had a fun-filled session with a physical therapist.
Kids received colorful bracelets with JDCH wellness affirmations at each visit. Then, building on the basics of staying active and eating right, we offered simple ways the kids could nurture their own mental and emotional well-being. These included some light exercises as part of their physical therapy visit and an animated video about self-care on a large display they could watch during their visit.
At Finance Park, we created fun and educational interactive experiences with a distinctive “Love What You Do” theme geared to eighth grade students. The objective was to spark ideas about careers in healthcare.
Life-sized portraits for the walls pictured healthcare workers in different roles, all showing a love for and commitment to their work. Each portrait included a scan tag that would take the eighth graders to a dedicated landing page.
There, they could search a detailed collection of career options we created just for the experience. This gave the kids multiple ways to dive into different hospital careers, while learning about the educational prerequisites and salaries.
Additionally, we spearheaded a photo shoot to capture the inspiring content that brought the walls of the room to life.
The Common Area was a great branding opportunity to reach business leaders who were participating as volunteers, showing how JDCH is the premier pediatric hospital. We dedicated one wall to JDCH’s “Power of Play” theme, showcasing the different ways the hospital brings it to life: art, music, yoga, pet therapy and more.
On the adjacent wall, we shot new photography that showcased the hospital’s recent expansion from four floors to eight. A door in the right wall opened into a cozy wellness room designed for young visitors feeling under the weather, and we brightened up this space as well. To help them keep their minds engaged, we also created a wall-sized game of word find within the room.
Engaging families to bridge learning with wellness
We used a number of strategies to connect the parents of the student visitors with the JA World experience. For parents of fifth grade visitors, we sent the kids home with a wellness checklist. The checklist included a scannable QR code that would take parents to a BizTown landing page with access to wellness content as well as themed bracelets and other items. Parents of eighth grade visitors received email communications from the teachers that included links to a newly created Finance Park landing page.
The aim was to create deeper engagement between families and their children so that, as the young minds begin their career exploration, JDCH would be top of mind. Both landing pages had a data capture that allowed parents to sign up for JDCH communications, which would allow JDCH to remarket to the families.
For Starmark, community plays an important role in the work that we do. Collaborating with JDCH and JA allowed us to blend our love for the brand with a shared vision of nurturing the future leaders of South Florida.
— Jacqui Hartnett, Starmark President
A thought-provoking wonderland that left lasting impressions
The impact was palpable. The delighted and enlightened kids at both Finance Park and BizTown, coupled with the common space branding, ensured Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital was not just another name in the crowd, but the centerpiece.
- JDCH established its community focus among some of Broward’s most esteemed businesses.
- Beyond the immediate event, the hospital’s message traveled to participants’ homes, further amplifying their message while winning the hearts of 20,000 families.
- The interactive setups allowed JDCH to foster relationships with the future workforce — getting them to think about their health and well-being, develop both personal finance and employment skills, and learn about related academics.
- At a time when children’s mental health crises are escalating, JDCH got the chance to impart the significance of a balanced approach to health.
In a community rich with healthcare choices, JDCH showed why they’re more than just an option. They are their community’s first choice for children’s healthcare.
