Public Relations

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A Conference Hand-Crafted for You

Susan Alcorn, president, Alcorn Strategic Communications and counsel, Jarrard, Inc.

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // The Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS24) planning team has put together a star-studded program covering today’s top issues that will keep you educated, informed, and connected.

3 Health Care PR Challenges to Be Prepared for in 2024

Ross K. Goldberg is president of Kevin/Ross Public Relations

What is the greater challenge: identifying challenges that health care public relations will face in 2024 or limiting those truths to a 1,200-word article? The answer is clearly the latter. Year after year health care public relations professionals see unanticipated new challenges pile up on those left over from the year prior until the hill Read More

Buckle Up: Health Care PR Professionals Likely to Face Bumpy Ride Again in 2024

// By Ross K. Goldberg // What is the greater challenge: identifying challenges that health care public relations will face in 2024 or limiting those truths to a 1,200-word article? The answer is clearly the latter. Year after year health care public relations professionals see unanticipated new challenges pile up on those left over from the year prior until the hill becomes so high that scaling Mount Whitney seems to be an easier task. 2024 looks to be no different.

Strategies to Turn Your Health System’s Executives Into Effective Thought Leaders

Among the most important currencies in health care is trust. Meanwhile, trust in leadership today is at an all-time low. According to PwC’s 2022 Consumer Intelligence Series on Trust, 87 percent of executives think customers highly trust their companies. In reality, it’s roughly 30 percent. That makes thought leadership from hospital executives a key method Read More

Transform Even Reluctant Speakers Into Stars: Proven Strategies and Tactics to Use with Hospital Leaders

Sharon Delaney McCloud, director of corporate communications at UNC Health

// By Wendy Margolin // Among the most important currencies in health care is trust. Meanwhile, trust in leadership today is at an all-time low. According to PwC’s 2022 Consumer Intelligence Series on Trust, 87 percent of executives think customers highly trust their companies. In reality, it’s roughly 30 percent. That makes thought leadership from hospital executives a key method of cultivating stakeholder trust. The more leaders are accessible and knowable, the more employees and patients can trust the institutions they guide.

Beyond the Headlines: Health System Leaders Share Their Crisis Communication Strategies

Lauren Landwerlin, vice president, strategy, marketing, and communications, Saint Francis Health System

Health systems rely on their communications teams to keep all stakeholders informed during a crisis and help to bring healing to the community in the aftermath, through empathetic messaging. At SHSMD Connections in September, three health system communications leaders shared their experiences following a crisis in their respective communities. “Sometimes the strength of the people Read More

Lessons from a Crisis: When You’re in the Eye of the Storm

Lisa O’Neil, system director of marketing and brand management, Lee Health

// By Susan Dubuque // You don’t know what you don’t know until you’re faced with leading your organization through a crisis. Here are three stories from leaders whose best advice is to expect that, sooner or later, a crisis will come. It’s not if – it’s when.

Creating the Blueprint: 5 Ways to Develop National Health Care Brand Recognition

Karen Brodbeck, vice president of Brand Management, OSF HealthCare

An effective public relations effort can give organizations a megaphone to amplify health care brand recognition. As a faith-based, mission-oriented organization, OSF HealthCare (OSF), founded in the late 1800s, has historically met internal and external challenges through innovation. In the past decade OSF, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois and serving patients in Illinois and Michigan, has Read More

How OSF Healthcare Makes Its Presence Known Nationally

Cheryl L. Serra

// By Cheryl L. Serra // As a faith-based, mission-oriented organization, OSF HealthCare (OSF), founded in the late 1800s, has historically met internal and external challenges through innovation. In the past decade OSF, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois and serving patients in Illinois and Michigan, has ramped up innovation, digital care, and efforts to transform the health care landscape.

The Critical Importance of Transparency in an Age of Misinformation

Paul Gadd, director of internal communications, University of Utah Health

// By Wendy Margolin // In March 2020 Paul Gadd, director of internal communications at University of Utah Health, answered a call from the emergency management director. Senior leadership decided to set up BLU-MED tents — emergency management tents in preparation for a natural disaster or mass casualty incident. It was still early in the pandemic, and there hadn’t been a single diagnosed case in Utah. The site of sealed medical tents outside the hospital was sure to induce fear among staff and the public.

How Marketing and PR Collaboration Can Help Address Staffing Shortages

Suzanne Bharati Hendery headshot

According to a recent report in Becker’s Health IT, health care marketing budgets have declined by 8 percent over the past year — down markedly from 2019 when budgets peaked. Marketing leaders also indicate that they are experiencing increased pressure to quantify results and demonstrate a return on investment. Aligning marketing and public relations efforts Read More

Geisinger Unifies Efforts to Establish a New Brand Platform

Don Stanziano, chief marketing and communications officer, Geisinger

In the aftermath of COVID-19, hospitals and health systems are pressured to do more with less. The 2023 Healthcare Marketers Trend Report reveals that marketing and advertising budgets have shrunk by 8 percent. At the same time, marketing departments are being asked to produce measurable results and contribute to business objectives. One strategy to make Read More

Healthcare PR: Strategies for Navigating Today’s Complex Media Landscape

Bryan Kawasaki, director, national communications, Providence

Public relations, or PR, is first and foremost about building and maintaining trusted relationships externally, with consumers and patients, providers, the media, and the larger community. We spoke with two healthcare PR leaders about how they forge those connections and raise the profile of their organizations to key audiences. Their work requires a multifaceted approach Read More

A Tale of Two Health System Public Relations Teams

Sean Couch, executive director, communications & consumer strategy, Northeast Georgia Health System

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // No matter how large or small or rural or urban a health care organization is, there are certain universal truths that apply when it comes to being the guardian of its reputation in the community. But the way public relations and communications teams approach things may vary greatly depending on how they are structured, the strategic priorities of their organizations, and the needs of the community.

Geisinger Maximizes Budgets by Aligning PR and Marketing

// By Susan Dubuque // The chief marketing and communications officer for Geisinger shares how collaboration between marketing and public relations enhances effectiveness and efficiency. Learn how unifying efforts between marketing and public relations can maximize budgets and generate better outcomes.

Conference Preview: SHSMD23 Connections Aims to Inspire and Challenge

Ryan Younger, vice president of marketing, Virtua Health

Each fall, the SHSMD Annual Conference brings together the best and brightest in our industry — from seasoned veterans to tomorrow’s leaders — for three days of sharing, growing, and learning together. This year, the health care strategy and marketing community will convene in Chicago from September 10-12 at SHSMD23 Connections. The conference is an Read More

SHSMD23 Connections: Be the Change Your Organization Needs

Lisa Crockett-Providence

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Each fall, the SHSMD Annual Conference brings together the best and brightest in our industry — from seasoned veterans to tomorrow’s leaders — for three days of sharing, growing, and learning together. This year, the health care strategy and marketing community will convene in Chicago from September 10-12 at SHSMD23 Connections.

Marketing’s Role in Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Victor Reiss, vice president— Consumerism & Insights, UNC Health

DEI is about more than representation. It’s all about creating an environment where everyone feels heard, respected, and empowered. No other industry has more of an imperative to embrace DEI than health care as the path to a healthier future for everyone. At this year’s Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS23) in Austin, Texas, Read More

Best Practices for Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to Life

Deb Pappas, chief marketing and communications officer and executive champion for DEI Education & Awareness Pillar, Connecticut Children’s

// By Susan Dubuque // Executives from Connecticut Children’s, UNC Health, and Stanford Health Care share how they integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the organizational culture. Read on for important lessons on advancing and operationalizing DEI efforts in your own organization.