Public Relations

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Optimize Your Website and the World May Beat a Path to Your Door — Plus Other PR Wisdom from a Not-So-Little Hospital System on the Prairie

September 24, 2020

// By Peter Hochstein // Whether it’s a national news network on the phone, or a triple-header of a tornado, some of the biggest PR opportunities are unplanned. Even Lindsey Meyers, vice president of public relations and communications for Avera Health, sounds just a tad surprised that there’s such sophisticated medical research going on in Read More

Los Angeles Archrivals Team Up for the Greater Good

September 3, 2020

Los Angeles is home to many world-class health care organizations, and they compete vigorously for the same patients. But even in a competitive market, joining together for the greater good may be the best way to get an important message across to the community. “It became apparent early on that people were not accessing health Read More

Six Los Angeles County Health Systems Team Up to Tackle the Silent Epidemic (Hint: It’s Not COVID-19)

August 17, 2020

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Los Angeles is home to many world-class health care organizations, and they compete vigorously for the same patients. But even in a competitive market, joining together for the greater good may be the best way to get an important message across to the community. “It became apparent early on Read More

The Strategic Considerations Behind a Successful Rebrand

July 16, 2020

Rebranding a large health system is a complex undertaking that is more than a marketing and design challenge; it requires a thoughtful, strategic approach to be successful. ChristianaCare, the largest health care provider in Delaware, unveiled its new brand identity in October 2019, after an 18-month planning process with its agency, Wax Custom Communications. The Read More

Communication Strategies Evolve as Pandemic Restrictions Loosen

June 25, 2020

During the initial stages of the pandemic, health care marketing leaders found their mission changing from brand and service-line promotion to crisis communication management, with staffs focusing efforts on sharing up-to-date information for patients and communities. Now that businesses are beginning to reopen, employees are returning to work, and restrictions on daily activities are loosening, Read More

ChristianaCare’s Rebrand: A Labor of Love

June 23, 2020

// By Marlene Kurban // Rebranding a large health system is a complex undertaking that is more than a marketing and design challenge; it requires a thoughtful, strategic approach to be successful. ChristianaCare, the largest health care provider in Delaware, unveiled its new brand identity in October 2019, after an 18-month planning process with its Read More

Effective Campaign Features Kids as Fighting Champions

June 18, 2020

“Nothing triggers an emotional reaction like watching someone trying to resist it. There’s a kids’ game in which the object is to stare at all the other kids and try to make one of them laugh while they resist. Trying not to laugh usually ended with an explosion of giggles all around,” notes veteran copywriter Read More

Pandemic Recovery: Gearing Up for Business Development Marketing

June 16, 2020

// By Sheryl S. Jackson // Health systems across the country are cautiously restarting elective surgeries and trying to recover from financial losses incurred during the peak of the pandemic. How are leaders approaching this massive challenge? Here, industry experts walk us through their evolving communication strategies as their organizations pivot from crisis communications to Read More

How To Start Re-Ramping Business Development Marketing

June 4, 2020

The United States has experienced hundreds of thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 100,000 deaths. On the economic side, millions have been furloughed or have lost their jobs. And, sadly, “we are not anywhere near done yet,” notes David Marlowe. Here’s an excerpt from Marlowe’s new article: The health care system has been hit Read More

Central Hub Keeps Communications Organized During Crisis

May 28, 2020

For most marketers, a pandemic like coronavirus is uncharted territory. Health care marketing and communications teams are working around the clock to craft and distribute content for patients, visitors, and staff. With the demand to churn out reliable content quickly, organizations may need help staying organized. “While media budgets for our clients are dropping by, Read More

A Community Rallies Around Its Local Health System

May 21, 2020

From Girl Scouts donating cookies they couldn’t sell, to chaplains bringing lollipops to nursing stations, to colleagues making posters and shout-outs to frontline staff, coronavirus isn’t spreading only an illness, but kindness and cheer as well. As hospitals and health care organizations seek much-needed personal protective equipment for staff, communities are responding by donating comfort Read More

How MarTech Can Help Streamline Crisis Communications During COVID-19

May 15, 2020

// By Althea Fung // For most marketers, a pandemic like coronavirus is uncharted territory. Health care marketing and communications teams are working around the clock to craft and distribute content for patients, visitors, and staff. With the demand to churn out reliable content quickly, organizations may need help staying organized. “While media budgets for Read More

How Health Systems Are Mobilizing Emergency Action Plans

May 14, 2020

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health care facilities face a tsunami of rapid-fire change. Hospital marketing leaders, historically charged with promoting signature service lines, are rapidly transforming their role and their tactics to meet this unprecedented challenge. Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, cared for the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the U.S. on Read More

Sick Kids with Fierce Determination Raise Preference Scores and Brand Recognition for Virginia’s Children’s Hospital of Richmond

May 13, 2020

// By Peter Hochstein // Sometimes the best way to trigger a strong emotional response is to emphasize the positive. Nothing triggers an emotional reaction like watching someone trying to resist it. There’s a kids’ game in which the object is to stare at all the other kids and try to make one of them Read More

Provider Marketing Recovery: What Do We Need to Do to Get Ready for Business Development Marketing?

April 19, 2020

// By David Marlowe // “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” (Winston Churchill, November 1942) As I write this article (April 16, 2020), the United States has experienced more than 625,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Thousands have been Read More

Call Center Informs and Reassures During COVID-19 Crisis

April 16, 2020

Crisis management is a standard part of hospital communication preparedness, but who could ever have anticipated the coronavirus pandemic? How do you communicate to your community and patients about a pandemic when nobody anywhere has all the answers? Yale New Haven Health clinicians and ancillary staff quickly came together, launching a call center to handle Read More

Spreading Kindness and Cheer to Caregivers

April 15, 2020

// By Wendy Stark Healy // From Girl Scouts donating cookies they couldn’t sell, to chaplains bringing lollipops to nursing stations, to colleagues making posters and shout-outs to frontline staff, coronavirus isn’t spreading only an illness, but kindness and cheer as well. As hospitals and health care organizations seek much-needed personal protective equipment for staff, Read More

Marketing, Communication Experts Share Reflections from the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 9, 2020

// By Kyle Hardner // Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health care facilities face a tsunami of rapid-fire change. Hospital marketing leaders, historically charged with promoting signature service lines, are rapidly transforming their role and their tactics to meet this unprecedented challenge. The new key priorities for health care marketing leaders include providing up-to-the-minute, accurate Read More

Community Leadership During a Fast-Changing Pandemic: Setting Up the COVID-19 Call Center at Yale New Haven Health

March 24, 2020

// By Marcia Simon, APR // Crisis management is a standard part of hospital communication preparedness, but who could ever have anticipated the coronavirus pandemic? How do you communicate to your community and patients about a pandemic when nobody anywhere has all the answers? Yale New Haven Health clinicians and ancillary staff quickly came together, Read More

How Data Drives Quality Improvement at Piedmont Fayette

January 23, 2020

Quality and star ratings matter, according to Healthgrades: Patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a 49 percent lower risk of dying, and a 59 percent lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a 1-star rating in that procedure or Read More

Does “Award-Winning Quality” Matter?

January 16, 2020

// By Marcia Simon, APR // Quality and star ratings matter, according to Healthgrades: Patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a 49 percent lower risk of dying, and a 59 percent lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a Read More

Two Seattle-Area Hospitals Team Up with the Seahawks To Fight Cancer

January 9, 2020

“If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Sunday in Seattle,” writes SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “It was a football day, of course, and the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Baltimore Ravens 30-16. But for two local hospitals, Virginia Mason Health System, with about 600 licensed beds, and Read More

Content + Swag Keeps Employees Engaged and Informed

December 19, 2019

If you’re a big, distributed health network with multiple locations and thousands of employees, how do you make sure your employees keep you top of mind when they’re out in the community? “We’re a large 10-hospital network — soon to be 12 — with over 15,500 employees,” says Mary Beth Golab, director of internal communications Read More

Was It the Seahawks vs. Cancer Game? Not Exactly. But When Two Seattle Area Hospitals Teamed Up with Their Local Football Team, They Scored Big Dividends.

December 19, 2019

// By Peter Hochstein // Properly done, the participation of sports teams can create impressive visibility and emotional involvement for a cancer awareness promotion. Here’s what it produced for the State of Washington’s Virginia Mason Health System and CHI Franciscan. If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Read More

Gamifying Internal Communications: St. Luke’s University Health Network Employees Earn Branded Gear by Staying Informed

December 13, 2019

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If you’re a big, distributed health network with multiple locations and thousands of employees, how do you make sure your employees keep you top of mind when they’re out in the community? One way is to capitalize on what they already love. “We’re a large 10-hospital network — soon Read More