WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
A DECADE OF CALLING ALL KIDS Network celebrates with first-ever studio
First-ever correspondent and former Goryeb Children’s Hospital patient Collin Berg in the new Calling All Kids studio.
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yder Werner loves to produce voice-overs and animate characters in his spare time. His mom, Heather Werner, sees sketches etched on notebooks in his bedroom. She’s thrilled that his newfound passion took form while receiving treatments for cystic fibrosis at Goryeb Children’s Hospital. He’s been a patient since he was 3 years old and regularly visits the hospital twice a year for medical treatments. In the fall of 2019, the 11-year-old met Suzanne Ruffo, executive producer of Calling All Kids, a children’s television network fully funded through donations to the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center (WAMMC) and the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center. His life was about to turn upside down when he heard his first call out of, “lights, camera, action”. This past spring, after a decade of production, this unique healing service opened its first studio, located in the lobby of Goryeb Children’s Hospital. The new studio better supports the 24-hour programming that airs on Channel 65 throughout the hospital and provides a beacon of distraction for pediatric patients, like Ryder Werner. Patients
can record an audio story or sit in a director’s chair and tape readings of their favorite storybook in front of a green screen. Some patients simply observe, but whatever the level of interaction, they all love the magic of television production. Best of all, they have something to look forward to in the face of tests, treatments and long hours confined to hospital beds. The lure of the bright lights and buzz of production also helps to further patient-centric care and a healing environment amongst its participants, two tenets that Goryeb Children’s Hospital strives for with every patient relationship. “Calling All Kids has been such an incredible tool to help children cope during their hospital stays,” Kristin Holtzman, CCLS, child life specialist, said. “It helps them to escape the hospital setting, even for a brief amount of time, and gives them a sense of normalcy.” What began ten years ago in the WAMMC library filming WAAMC volunteers, hospital staff, nurses and physicians reading storybooks for patients to watch, quickly became an overnight hit. Even with its early success, however, former WAMMC President and Network Founder Beth Wipperman never imagined
an in-house studio with extensive programming the likes of what is available today. “Kids in the Kitchen,” an interactive cooking show; “Doggy Tales,” featuring pet therapy dogs; and “San Diego Zoo Kids” are some fan favorites. In June 2019, the station launched its first, offcampus, live coverage when a former patient and first-ever Calling All Kids Correspondent Collin Berg interviewed participants at the Second Annual Juniors Fore Goryeb golf outing. The event was co-chaired by the Ekert and Lapper families and Kids4Kids, the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center's youth philanthropy council members. The boom in programming content escalated in 2011 when Suzanne Ruffo, then a WAMMC volunteer, began her tenure with the station. The vision of animating the storybook reading segments and having pediatric patients participate in the tapings are two of her greatest achievements. What brings Suzanne Ruffo the most joy is inviting new faces into the studio. When Ryder Werner had a chance to participate, he jumped at the opportunity. "Along Came
Calling All Kids has been such an incredible tool to help children cope during their hospital stays. –Kristin Holtzman Child Life Sepcialist
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