Cincinnati Zoo Lights Up New Patient Area at Cincinnati Children’s 

Posted December 2, 2021

CINCINNATI, OH (December 2, 2021) — The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has been bringing animals to patients at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center via bi-weekly Wild Wednesday Zoom calls since May.  The Zoo has worked closely with Seacrest Studios to deliver this programming and another idea grew out of the collaboration when Seacrest’s Kevin Altimier, media specialist with Child Life & Integrative Care at Cincinnati Children’s, asked if the Zoo would like give patients in the hospital’s newly-opened Critical Care Building, also known as Location G, a mini PNC Festival of Lights experience. Something that they could see from their rooms, come outside to see, or experience through Seacrest Studios.

“The Zoo is right next door to Cincinnati Children’s but not really close enough for patients to see our holiday light display,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s special events manager Kim Denzler. “We were happy to take some of our surplus lights and decorations over to beautify the new courtyard area.”

Yesterday afternoon, Zoo employees, along with Zoo director Thane Maynard, brought trees and lights to their neighbors and transformed an open green space area into a bright spot for patients and their families to enjoy.

“Cincinnati Children’s has been a great neighbor and partner,” said Maynard. “Two of their nurses rushed over to give our premature hippo, Fiona, a life-saving IV when she was struggling to survive, so we are more than willing to help them out by bringing animals and lights to patients.”