Phoenix Children’s has established the following guidelines for arranging interviews, filming or photo opportunities. These guidelines apply to in-person interviews on any Phoenix Children’s campus, as well as virtual interviews with physicians, nurses, staff and/or patient families.

Contact

The Communications Department is available to assist the media 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Members of the news media wishing to contact or interview a Phoenix Children’s physician, nurse, staff member or patient family should email mediarelations [at] phoenixchildrens.com (mediarelations[at]phoenixchildrens[dot]com) or call 
480-798-5951 to reach the on-call Communications representative.

Interview Requests

Out of respect for patients and families, and by law, privacy is of utmost concern. Media presence at Phoenix Children's – whether in-person on any of our campuses, or virtually – must be authorized and coordinated by either the Communications Department or the Phoenix Children’s Foundation. This includes requests for interviews with physicians, nurses, staff and patient families.

A representative from the Communications Department or Foundation must accompany all reporters, film crews and photographers on any Phoenix Children’s campus. Journalists are asked to refrain from filming individuals in the background of footage who have not consented to be filmed; this applies to indoor and outdoor filming.

Interviewing patient families while they are on a Phoenix Children’s campus must be facilitated by a Communications or Foundation representative.

Visiting Phoenix Children’s Facilities

Advanced requests for interviews are necessary so the Communications Department or Foundation can ensure proper consent is obtained, arrange a location for media interviews or filming, notify the patient care areas involved and otherwise coordinate the involvement of the appropriate patients, families and Phoenix Children’s staff.

Institutional References

Reporters are asked to identify Phoenix Children’s staff by their health system title in stories related to the staff member's work or role at the health system. Reporters are asked to use the complete name of the institution, Phoenix Children’s. A Communications or Foundation representative can verify the correct title for clinicians and staff members.

Prohibited Behaviors/Tactics/Actions

Bedside support of a family member or legally authorized representative can be a crucial part of a patient’s healing journey. Members of the media are prohibited from initiating an ask to a patient’s guardian to leave the bedside and participate in an interview on or off campus.

Filming from a public space near a Phoenix Children’s campus with a Phoenix Children’s location as a backdrop is permitted. We kindly ask that media refrain from using Phoenix Children’s as a backdrop for stories in which the health system is not an active participant. Please note, Phoenix Children’s parking garages and parking lots are not public spaces.

Members of the media are not permitted on any Phoenix Children’s campus without authorization and an escort from Communications or Foundation.

Safety Guidelines

The health and safety of our patient families, clinicians and staff is essential. Any members of the media who have a fever and/or cold or flu-like symptoms will be asked to reschedule their interview or conduct interviews virtually. Additional safety protocols may be required, especially in times of community transmission of viral illnesses.

Resources

Resources are available to media looking for assets to use in stories, including our logo, b-roll and leadership bios. The Bright Futures blog has additional resources, figures and stories.

We also have a variety of fact sheets that provide information on key areas within our health system: