By Greg Bortkiewicz, Senior Account Executive & Digital Specialist
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford is one of the most renowned children’s hospitals in the country. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Packard Children’s for the past 18 months, and things are really heating up as we get closer to the opening of its new building.
Slated to open in December, the expansion will more than double the size of the current campus by linking the original hospital with a new main building, bringing the total hospital space to 844,000 square feet.
The new 521,000-square-foot facility and surrounding 3.5 acres of healing green space and gardens were designed in partnership with patients, families and every level of hospital staff and faculty to ensure all areas of need were accounted.
I’ve been down to see the new building on a couple of occasions and it’s really impressive. The healing power of nature is a cornerstone of the Packard Children’s values and it’s been woven seamlessly into the new building. Each floor has a different nature theme with unique art on display in the form of sculptures, murals and mosaics. Much of the art is part of the wayfinding system of the building, making it as easy (and fun) as possible for patients and their families to navigate the space.
The Dunlevie Garden is packed with educational and engaging sculptures for kids to explore, featuring animals and plants all native to Northern California. The puma den was a favorite of mine!
As my colleague Brianne wrote in a recent blog, a successful launch needs at least three months of planning. The opening of a new hospital building is bigger than your average launch, so it’s been hugely beneficial to have had this amount of preparation time.
We’ve just begun reaching out to media to offer the first set of sneak peek tours, and have so far welcomed the San Francisco Business Times, Bay Area Parent and KGO-TV. Check out the KGO-TV segment below:
As we get closer to the big launch, we have some exciting PR ideas and look forward to securing media coverage in the Bay Area and on a national level. We share all of our biggest media hits on social media, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
What’s the biggest launch you’ve worked on? Leave a comment below or tweet me at @greg_borko.
Greg,
Thanks for your spotlight blog. I’ve worked on many launches in my PR career. The new Stanford Children’s is particularly exciting because there are so many story angles to pursue. From nature and art to tech and personal stories…the possibilities are endless. Looking forward to when the doors open!
~Ashley
Greg, thanks for spotlighting the much-anticipated Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. This new expansion will help many families and I’m glad our PR efforts will help the public learn more about this amazing new project.
Thanks for the Spotlight on Stanford, Greg! LCI has put in so much work towards the opening of the new hospital. I’m excited to see the launch be a success!