# Celebs shilling for hospitals **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504 "2009-06-11T23:37:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/1 "2009-06-11T23:37:49Z")
Here in Philly, Adam Arkin appears in ads for Jefferson Medical Center and Kelly Ripa does ads for Cooper Hospital (south Jersey). Do these celebs, or others, appear for hospitals in other regions? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/2 "2009-06-12T01:26:29Z")
Tom Skerritt does ads for the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/3 "2009-06-12T03:16:03Z")
I haven’t seen any celeb promos for the Chicago-area hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![gustp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gustp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gustp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/4 "2009-06-13T16:21:16Z")
Advertising for hospitals or medications is illegal in Canada. You know why? It just takes resources away from patient care and raises the cost of medicine. I have a son who is a MD. He tells me he gets patients that have seen ads on American TV requesting meds that they have seen there. He tells them that he will give them the meds that are appropriate for them and not something that they have been sold on the TV. These pharma companies have reps calling on the Drs all the time so it’s not like the Drs don’t know about these new meds. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/5 "2009-06-13T17:21:05Z")
Jennifer Aniston, Antonio Banderas, Marlo Thomas, and Robin Williams have all made appearances for St Jude’s Children’s Hopsital. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/6 "2009-06-14T07:55:34Z")
In the Nashville area, Jeff Fisher (Titans coach), IIRC a couple of players, Vince Gill, Amy Grant and several other country music celebs are on ads for various local hospitals. It’s not peculiar to Jersey. It does make me wonder what the compensation is for the celebrities involved. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebs-shilling-for-hospitals/499504/7 "2009-06-14T10:16:01Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Here in Philly, Adam Arkin appears in ads for Jefferson Medical Center and Kelly Ripa does ads for Cooper Hospital (south Jersey). > > Do these celebs, or others, appear for hospitals in other regions? Kelly Rippa’s father works at Cooper. And Adam Arkin played a doctor on TV. So there’s his connection. :rolleyes: