// By Lisa D. Ellis // When Permanente Medical Group leaders set out to create a unified brand for its eight medical groups around the country, the health system’s physician leaders went on the road to engage with physicians and patients at every single location. This was part of a comprehensive effort to understand what Read More
What message is your organization’s culture sending to your employees? If it doesn’t tell the people you employ that you value their input, you’re missing an important chance to get them more engaged in your day-to-day operations. You may also be losing out on a valuable differentiator in a competitive marketplace. At Tri-State Memorial Hospital Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // What message is your organization’s culture sending to your employees? If it doesn’t tell the people you employ that you value their input, you’re missing an important chance to get them more engaged in your day-to-day operations. You may also be losing out on a valuable differentiator in a Read More
The latest marketing efforts at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts have a very important goal: to engage employees to do whatever it takes to provide the very best experience for patients. While most health systems recognize the importance of internal engagement, Newton-Wellesley’s approach — which includes seeing the employees as “brand ambassadors” to extend the system’s Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising In a hospital setting, changing employee routines and behaviors can save lives — but the change may call for altering the entire institutional culture. A memo to staff likely won’t work. What will? Signature Healthcare discovered some of the answers, involving an internal advertising campaign that began in 2015 and is Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // The latest marketing efforts at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts have a very important goal: to engage employees to do whatever it takes to provide the very best experience for patients. Tackling a Challenging Market While most health systems recognize the importance of internal engagement, Newton-Wellesley’s approach — which includes Read More
Christine Woolsey began working with SCL Health — then known as Sisters of Charity Leavenworth Health System — as a public relations consultant helping the organization manage issues and communications related to a merger with another health system. In 2010, she joined SCL as senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer. “At the Read More
View from the C-Suite // By Sheryl S. Jackson // The branding and marketing communications strategies of hospitals and health systems have changed over the years as mergers with other organizations have occurred, and SCL Health is an excellent example of the evolution. Christine Woolsey began working with SCL Health — then known as Sisters Read More
This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.
Are some of the biggest heroes in your organization going unnoticed? At Hartford HealthCare, leadership uncovered amazing examples of frontline staff members who were going to great lengths to show patients they cared. Recognizing these actions provided the health system with a valuable opportunity to strengthen its brand from the inside out. “At Hartford HealthCare, Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Are some of the biggest heroes in your organization going unnoticed? At Hartford HealthCare during a recent push to strengthen internal branding, leadership uncovered amazing examples of frontline staff members who were going to great lengths to show patients they cared. Recognizing these actions provided the health system with Read More
This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.
Physician burnout is a hot topic, but effective solutions have been more elusive. In March 2017, 10 CEOs of the nation’s most prominent health systems examined physician burnout, proposing an 11-item call to action (Health Affairs). In a new article, Susan Emerson, senior vice president of strategic planning and business development at Private Health News/MedNews Read More
// By Susan Emerson // Physician burnout is a hot topic, but effective solutions have been more elusive. In March 2017, 10 CEOs of the nation’s most prominent health systems examined physician burnout, proposing an 11-item call to action (Health Affairs). The Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine published an eight-step framework this year Read More
Five years ago, Allyson Collins was the first person hired in the digital communications team at NYU Langone Health in New York City. She was challenged with relaunching two extensive websites — one for consumers and one for an academic audience — with thousands of pages each. A year into the massive project, she had Read More
// By Wendy Stark Healy // Five years ago, Allyson Collins was the first person hired in the digital communications team at NYU Langone Health in New York City. She was challenged with relaunching two extensive websites — one for consumers and one for an academic audience — with thousands of pages each. A year Read More
When is the last time you received from your employer an email or text so enticing you wanted to open it right away? Most likely, the answer is “never.” That’s because most employee communications are talking at you or providing you with information they want you to have, but they somehow miss the boat entirely Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // When is the last time you received from your employer an email or text so enticing you wanted to open it right away? Most likely, the answer is “never.” That’s because most employee communications are talking at you or providing you with information they want you to have, but Read More
Blogging is becoming an increasingly important way to communicate with your target audience. And it can also provide a valuable forum for your staff to share their experiences and ideas within the larger organization and beyond. This lesson comes from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, where some forward-thinking staff members created Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Blogging is becoming an increasingly important way to communicate with your target audience. And it can also provide a valuable forum for your staff to share their experiences and ideas within the larger organization and beyond. The Doctor’s Tablet This lesson comes from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Read More
“As the Affordable Care Act continues to alter the profile of health care in America, hospitals are challenged to meet the objectives of the Triple Aim and offer access, quality, and affordability in their care delivery even while reimbursement continues to be ratcheted back,” says Dennis Knox, Chief Executive Officer of Aethena Healthcare Holding Company. Read More
“Health care is changing—and so are health care brand campaigns,” says Daniel P. Stevens. “Building a strong health care brand in an environment that is undergoing drastic change is challenging: the switch from fee for service to value-based care; the emergence of accountable care organizations; the consolidation of hospitals—the list goes on. Sure, these shifts Read More
// By Daniel P. Stevens, DMD, PhD, MBA // Health care is changing—and so are health care brand campaigns. Building a strong health care brand in an environment that is undergoing drastic change is challenging: the switch from fee for service to value-based care; the emergence of accountable care organizations; the consolidation of hospitals—the list Read More
// By Dennis Knox // As any golfer knows, even the most powerful swing won’t get your ball where it needs to go if you don’t follow through on the backswing. This premise also holds true off the golf course. In fact, health care organizations today need to keep the idea of follow-through in mind Read More
// By Lisa Ellis // “Say it. Live it.” This concept sounds simple, right? But do you and your employees really live up to the messages you regularly send to your audience? If you’re like many health care groups around the nation, you may have a serious disconnect between how your internal culture operates and Read More