Patients, staff and visitors to Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital’s paediatric unit will now be greeted by a familiar friendly (and fuzzy) face—Snoopy!—thanks to a new mural that made its debut on Friday, 16 October.

The mural is a permanent gift to the hospital, thanks to a joint effort of Peanuts Worldwide, the Foundation for Hospital Art, and the paediatric patients and staff members who participated in painting it.

Paediatric patients and hospital staff members collaborated on painting the six-panel mural, which features a brightly coloured image of Snoopy and Woodstock enjoying a hearty laugh atop Snoopy’s doghouse.

“We are thrilled and moved to see Charles Schulz’s iconic characters share their irrepressible joy with patients at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial and other hospitals around the world,” said Roz Nowicki, Executive Vice President of Peanuts Worldwide. “At a time when we all need hope and humour, we believe he would be thrilled to know that his work is bringing both to adults and children across the globe.”

“We are grateful and delighted to receive the gift of Snoopy thanks to Peanuts Worldwide and the Foundation for Hospital Art,” said Daniel Matthew, acting general manager at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital. “Snoopy represents the best of all of us—imagination, confidence, resilience, and of course, enormous good humour!—and this is exactly what we’d like every person to feel as they walk through our doors. We couldn’t be more pleased.”

	Henco Kruger, a patient at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, shows off the six-panel mural. Paediatric patients and hospital staff members collaborated to paint the mural, which features a brightly coloured image of Snoopy and Woodstock.
	Dr Beelke D'hondt, a paediatric surgeon who practises at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, assists Lesedi Mogotlhe with the mural.

The mural at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital is one of 70 murals provided at no cost to hospitals on six continents as part of a new “Take Care With Peanuts” Hospital Mural Program initiative that launched on October 1 at One Brooklyn Health at Brookdale Hospital in New York and CHOC Children’s Hospital of Orange County in California, as part of the 70th anniversary of Charles Schulz’s iconic comic strip.

The robust, multi-pronged initiative, whose themes come directly from Schulz’s strips, encourages everyone to “Take Care of Yourself,” “Take Care of Each Other,” and “Take Care of the Earth.” Among the other hospitals participating are Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital in Toronto, Canada; Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades in Paris, France; and National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing Children’s Hospital in Beijing, China.

“Our non-profit initiative is dedicated to making hospital visits a friendlier, more hope-filled experience for patients through the power of art – and who can do that more effectively than Peanuts?” said Scott Feight, Executive Director, Foundation for Hospital Art. “Charles Schulz created indelible characters who bring joy to all who see them, which is why Peanuts is such a perfectly aligned partner for the Foundation for Hospital Art.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACTS
For Peanuts Worldwide
Alison Hill
714.287.2015
[email protected]

For Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital

MNA on behalf of Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital
Contact:               Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville and Estene Lotriet-Vorster
Telephone:        (011) 469 3016
Email:                   [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]

ABOUT PEANUTS WORLDWIDE

Charles M. Schulz first introduced the world to the Peanuts characters in 1950, when the Peanuts comic strip debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular culture. The new series Snoopy in Space launched on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019. Peanuts animated specials and series air on major networks and streaming services, including ABC, CartoonNetwork.com and Boomerang in the U.S., Family Channel in Canada, and the WildBrain Spark network on YouTube. Fans also enjoy Peanuts through thousands of consumer products around the world, amusement parks attractions, cultural events, social media, and a daily comic strip available in all formats from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students. The Peanuts characters and related intellectual property are 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd., 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by family of Charles M. Schulz. Website: Peanuts.com; Facebook: @snoopy; Twitter: @snoopy; Instagram: @snoopygrams #PaintBySnoopy

ABOUT NETCARE CHRISTIAAN BARNARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
The modern Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital on Cape Town’s foreshore is a living tribute to its namesake, Professor Christiaan Barnard, who performed the world's first heart transplant in 1967. His legacy of clinical excellence and innovation in South African medicine and that of other pioneers of important medical advances in South Africa are celebrated by means of exhibits at the lift lobbies. Professor Barnard's legacy is today carried forward by world-class specialists practising at the hospital, who continue to achieve 'firsts' in medical advancements and to harness cutting-edge medical technology to optimise outcomes for local, national and international patients. The facility has been designed to international safety standards and incorporates sophisticated green principles and technology to ensure ongoing sustainability. Considerable emphasis has been placed on the inclusion of design elements to optimise infection prevention and control, with the goal of providing the best and safest care to each patient in an environment where their dignity is respected and they are treated with compassion.

ABOUT FOUNDATION FOR HOSPITAL ART
FFHA is an international non-profit organization founded in 1984, headquartered in Woodstock, Georgia, USA and is funded by major corporations, foundations, and individuals. FFHA has involved over one million volunteers and patients to donate over 49,000 paintings to over 7,500 hospitals across 195 countries. FFHA’s mission is to love and comfort patients by donating artwork at no cost to healthcare facilities around the world.  For more information visit the Foundation’s website at www.hospitalart.org or contact via email: [email protected]

PARTICIPATING HOSPITALS (as of September 1, 2020/Subject to Change)
UNITED STATES
Bentonville: Northwest Medical Center
Brooklyn: One Brooklyn Health at Brookdale Hospital
Chicago: University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s
Denver: Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation
Kansas City, KS: University of Kansas Medical Center
Milwaukee: Children’s Wisconsin
Orange County, CA: CHOC Children’s Hospital
Philadelphia: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
St. Paul: Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare
San Francisco: San Francisco Downtown VA Clinic
Seattle: Providence Mount St. Vincent
Washington, DC: Children’s National

AUSTRALIA
Brisbane: Gold Coast University Hospital
Sydney: The Children’s Hospital of Westmead

BRAZIL
Campinas: Boldrini Children’s Hospital
Campinas: Hospital Sobrapar Crânio e Face
Campinas: Instituto Padre Haroldo
Foz do Iguaçu: Costa Cavalcanti Hospital
Foz do Iguaçu: Hospital Municipal Padre Germano Lauck
São Paulo: University of São Paulo

CAMBODIA
Siem Reap: Balang Commune Health Center

CANADA
Ottawa: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Toronto: Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
Vancouver: Sunny Hill Health Centre

CHINA
Beijing: National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing Children’s Hospital

COLOMBIA
Bogotá: Méderi Hospital

FRANCE
Annecy: Clinique Générale Annecy
Paris: Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades

GERMANY
Dusseldorf: University Children’s Hospital
Hamburg: University Hospital Hamburg
Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Hospital
Ingolstadt: Klinikum Ingolstadt

JAPAN
Chitose: Chitose City Hospital

KOREA
Seoul: The Children’s Hospital of Seoul National University Hospital

LAOS
Luang Prabang: Lao Friends Hospital for Children

POLAND
Sanok: The Specialist Hospital in Sanok, Autonomous Public Healthcare Centre

SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town: George Hospital
Cape Town: Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital

SPAIN
Barcelona: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu

UNITED KINGDOM
Aylesbury: Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Edinburgh: Royal Hospital for Sick Children

URUGUAY
Montevideo: Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell