ORANGE, Calif., June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the
leader in supplemental insurance sales at U.S. worksites, delivered
My Special Aflac Ducks to patients at CHOC Children's
Hospital. My Special Aflac Duck, designed by Sproutel, is a
social robot that uses medical play, lifelike movement, and
emotions to engage and help comfort kids during cancer
treatment. Last week's delivery to CHOC Children's Hospital
follows more than 18 months of child-centered research conducted
with children, parents and medical providers at the Aflac Cancer
and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
"The entire Aflac family is pleased to make this special
delivery and bring necessary comfort and companionship to the
courageous children facing cancer at CHOC Children's Hospital,"
Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos
said. "It brings us great joy to witness the impact that My
Special Aflac Duck has had on the lives of young patients and
families across the country since we launched this remarkable
innovation last year. We look forward to continuing toward our goal
of getting a duck into the arms of the more than 15,000 children
diagnosed with cancer in America each year."
At the delivery event, attendees were treated to a demonstration
of My Special Aflac Duck, highlighting how it will help
comfort children and serve as a tool for health care professionals
to use with their patients. After the demonstration, children and
their parents went on a fun scavenger hunt, finding clues and
visiting various locations throughout the oncology unit, eventually
leading them to the discovery of their very own My Special Aflac
Duck.
"We are delighted to help lift the spirits of the brave young
patients at CHOC Children's Hospital and their families," The Aflac
Foundation, Inc. President Kathelen
Amos said. "Working with this excellent institution to
provide My Special Aflac Ducks to the children they support
daily is a momentous step forward in our mission, and we are
grateful to all those involved in making it happen."
To date, Aflac has hosted special delivery events for My
Special Aflac Duck in six cities (Atlanta; Houston; Nashville,
Tennessee; New Orleans;
Omaha, Nebraska; and Columbia, South Carolina) and has distributed
ducks to children in more than 200 hospitals and facilities in 47
states. Aflac will continue to expand its My Special Aflac
Duck campaign to hospitals across the country, providing a
My Special Aflac Duck to any newly diagnosed child in
the United States, above the age
of 3, for free. The company has invested more than $3 million for the research, design and delivery
of My Special Aflac Duck. Aflac and Sproutel invested nearly
two years to research and develop My Special Aflac Duck.
In addition to My Special Aflac Duck, Sproutel created a
free companion app for smartphones and tablets available through
the Apple App Store and Google Play. Additional features of My
Special Aflac Duck include:
- Emotional expression: Seven RFID-enabled feeling cards
help children communicate; the duck acts out a given emotion when
that feeling card is tapped to its chest.
- Medical and nurturing play: A chemotherapy port allows
children to mirror their care experiences via play, giving them a
sense of control during the process. The duck's no-cost companion
app allows users to "bathe" it, "feed" it and give it "medicine"
via augmented reality.
- Music, singing and nuzzling: The duck sings when music
is played. Customizable sounds include gentle waves, wind and a
farm.
- Breathing and heartbeat: The duck produces a
naturalistic heartbeat and deep breathing, which caregivers can
incorporate into calming routines and exercises.
- Batteries and accessories: Provided so it is ready to
use out of the box.
- Convenience: A removable skin, which can be washed to
adhere to hospital hygiene standards.
"At CHOC Children's Hospital, we pride ourselves on offering not
only the highest quality medical care, but also creating a
supportive and caring environment for our patients and their
families. When we heard about My Special Aflac Duck, we were
excited about the opportunity to offer this to our patients,"
Brianne Ortiz, manager of the
Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Department at CHOC, said. "We are
honored to partner with Aflac. Their unique innovation gives us the
opportunity to enhance our existing programs and services available
to CHOC patients, while putting smiles on their faces."
"At Aflac's core, we are committed to helping children and
families impacted by pediatric cancer, and we are honored to
support those in Orange County by
bringing My Special Aflac Duck to their wonderful hospital,"
Aflac Senior Vice President, Chief
ESG and Communications Officer Catherine
Hernandez-Blades said. "We are thankful to our partners at
CHOC Children's Hospital for helping us build on our efforts to
make a difference in the lives of every child with cancer in
America."
Since 1995, Aflac has contributed more than $134 million to the pediatric cancer cause,
including more than $500,000 donated
each month by 17,000 independent agents licensed to sell Aflac
products. The funds are committed directly from their monthly
commission checks. To see My Special Aflac Duck in action
and to learn more about this important cause, please visit
AflacChildhoodCancer.org.
About CHOC Children's:
CHOC Children's is exclusively
committed to improving the health and well-being of children
through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach, education and
research. Our growing health care community includes two
state-of-the-art pediatric hospitals in Orange and Mission
Viejo, many primary and specialty care clinics, a mental
health inpatient center and four clinical centers of excellence –
the CHOC Children's Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Hyundai
Cancer Institutes. To learn more, visit www.choc.org.
About Aflac Incorporated
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:
AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more
than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading
supplemental insurer, by paying cash fast when policyholders get
sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of
Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the
opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life
Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer
insurance in Japan, where it
insures 1 in 4 households. Through its trailblazing One Day
PaySM initiative in the United
States, for eligible claims, Aflac can process, approve and
electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in
just one business day. For 13 consecutive years, Aflac has been
recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the
100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive
year, and in 2019, Fortune included Aflac on its list of World's
Most Admired Companies for the 18th time. To find out more about
One Day PaySM and learn how to get help with expenses
health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus,
GA 31999.
Media contact: Kristen
Fraser, 706.580.3813 or mediarelations@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact: David
A. Young, 706.596.3264 or dyoung@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac