Phreesia is bringing "Sesame Street" to the doctor’s office. The patient activation company has partnered with the nonprofit behind the iconic TV show to work beloved characters such as Elmo and Cookie Monster into joint campaigns aimed at caregivers of young children.
Having entered into a five-year collaboration, Phreesia will work with the nonprofit Sesame Workshop on campaigns that will run on its digital intake platform. The joint campaigns, which are scheduled to start in October, will deliver educational content to the caregivers of children aged up to 5 years as they check in for their kids’ medical appointments.
The educational content will use "Sesame Street" characters to convey the importance of healthy habits and preventive care. Planned topics include how to prepare for routine health check-ups, vaccinations and other preventive screenings.
Phreesia said it plans to draw on the TV show’s legacy library of health and wellness content to “develop messages that combine the rigor of evidence-based health recommendations and the whimsy of Sesame Street’s iconic and delightful characters.”
“As a pediatrician, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is to reach parents and caregivers with information that’s relevant, actionable and easy to understand,” Christina Suh, M.D., director of clinical affairs at Phreesia, said in a statement. “Sesame Street continues to be one of the best messengers on these topics for families across the country.”
"Sesame Street" has a long history of communicating health topics to children. In 1984, the TV show ran a sketch that showed Grover visiting the doctor’s office for a check-up. The Muppet told viewers that they “should have your check-up, too, if you want to keep body and fur together.” Grover went on to explain what the doctor was doing as they performed checks and gave a booster shot, showing that the experience can be painless.