PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Simon Fox, 805-687-5803, ext.2

simon@adventuresincaring.org

The Medicine of Compassion Video Wins International Health Care Award

Santa Barbara, CA – November 18, 2004 – The Medicine of Compassion, the new video from Santa Barbara’s Adventures in Caring Foundation, has won the 2004 International Health & Medical Media Award for best video in the category of patient care. The award, affectionately known as the “FREDDIE”, is the equivalent of an Oscar for media productions in the field of health and medicine.

Simon and Karen Fox with Bent Myggen after
receiving the FREDDIE Award in New York

Each year, the International Health & Medical Media Awards attract the best feature-length films, documentaries and videos from around the world. Top honors were given to the producers of The Medicine of Compassion, Simon Fox of Adventures in Caring and Bent Myggen of VisionEars.com. Both producers live in the Santa Barbara area where the non-profit Adventures in Caring Foundation is based. They received the award at the 30th Anniversary Award Ceremony in New York on November 5, 2004.

The Medicine of Compassion: Core Skills for the Human Side of Health Care, is designed to teach the skills needed to bring the healing power of compassion into the healthcare setting. It features real doctors and nurses relating to patients and their families at Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospitals. As producer Simon Fox, who heads the Adventures in Caring Foundation with his wife, Karen, points out, “By watching the video, viewers learn how actual medical personnel communicate much more than information to their patients. Even though there is a proven link between empathy and helping patients heal, how to teach compassion in the health care setting remains a mystery to trainers and administrators in most organizations. The Medicine of Compassion was created to help remove the mystery. Karen and I are thrilled that the video is getting an enthusiastic response from medical professionals around the country.”

Locally, the Adventures in Caring Foundation is best known for its all-volunteer Raggedy Ann & Andy Visiting Program for hospitals and nursing homes. That program is part of the nonprofit’s overall mission to lift the spirit of those who are seriously ill or injured, and to establish a culture of compassion in health care – which they do through their volunteer programs, workshops, videos and their book, What Can I Say? A Guide To Visiting Friends and Family Who Are Ill.

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The Medicine of Compassion is the first in a series of three videos designed to explore and build skills in the human side of healing based on Adventures in Caring’s pioneering work in the field of patient care. It is aimed at young men and women who are beginning their careers in health care, and shows the core skills necessary to communicate compassion to people who are seriously ill, injured or dying. Funding from the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation has made the video series possible.

For more information about The Medicine of Compassion, Adventures in Caring Foundation or Simon Fox, call 687-5803 ext. 101, email simon@adventuresincaring.org or visit www.adventuresincaring.org High resolution photos available on request.

Additional information

At the International Health & Medical Media Awards, the category of Patient Care is one of the most competitive. The other finalists in the Patient Care category this year were the American Medical Association Foundation, Hackensack University Medical Center and Perioperative Education Network.

Winners and finalists in the thirty-three other categories, covering all facets of health and medicine, included: ABC News, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Home Box Office, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the World Health Organization, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, WebMD, Dateline NBC, PBS and CNN.