(original post date 12/7/2006)When they arrived at the International Health and Medical Media Awards annual ceremony held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York last Friday evening, the team from Cambridge’s Vida Health Communications already knew it would receive the “Freddie” in the “Patient Care” category. The surprise came when Focus on the Brain, Vida’s new DVD documentary about developmentally supportive care for preterm infants, took one of the competition’s four top honors, the Surgeon General’s ‘Founders’ Award.
Vida produced Focus on the Brain as part of a project funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The DVD’s content is based on the research of Dr. Heidelise Als of Children’s Hospital, Boston which has proven that preterm infants fare better over the long term when neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) employ developmentally sensitive care practices. Filmed on location in four Massachusetts neonatal NICUs, Focus on the Brain features parents and infants coping with prematurity and commentary from some of the world’s leading experts in neonatal care. Hospitals participating in Vida’s research were: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston; UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester and Baystate Medical Center, Springfield.
“Compared to full term infants, children born prematurely suffer a higher incidence of cognitive and behavioral problems throughout their lives.” said Vida’s Executive Producer and the project’s Principal Investigator, Lisa McElaney. “By sharing what we now know about the infant brain and the benefits of care practices that support development, we believe it is possible to improve the short and long-term outcomes for early-born children and their families.”
The International Health and Medical Media Competition “encourages and celebrates excellence and every year it attracts documentaries, series, shorts, videos, Web sites and CD ROMs from around the world.” For more information about the competition, visit: www.thefreddies.com.
Vida Health Communications works to improve the well-being of women, children and families by producing evidence-based, educational media for caregivers and patients. Our award-winning documentary programs integrate the latest scientific knowledge and advances in healthcare with consistently innovative approaches to visual and interactive media. Please visit www.vida-health.com to learn more about our work.
Photos of the awards ceremony and review copies of Focus on the Brain are available to members of the press upon request.
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