“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
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
// 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
// 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
As the only children’s hospital in the state of Arkansas, with greater than 90 percent awareness, Arkansas Children’s had historically not prioritized marketing, says Carla Bryant, executive vice president of Corrigan Consulting. “While they had a marketing department, it was more focused on internal communications than strategic marketing,” Bryant says. New leadership brought a new Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // What should a high-performing marketing function in a health system look like? And how do you leverage marketing to support growth? As the only children’s hospital in the state of Arkansas, with greater than 90 percent awareness, Arkansas Children’s had historically not prioritized marketing, says Carla Bryant, executive vice Read More
Health care organizations play an important role in their communities that goes beyond providing health care services within the four walls of a hospital, clinic, or urgent care center. Outreach and community-based programs target specific populations to improve health and quality of life with a goal of keeping people out of the hospital. At Ascension, Read More
“Many of the people practicing health care public relations or marketing communications owe their educational roots to journalism school where they were taught, in no uncertain terms, that the elements of a good story are found in the five W’s,” says Ross K. Goldberg, president of Kevin/Ross Public Relations and a member of the SHCM Read More
View from the C-Suite // By Sheryl S. Jackson // Health care leadership extends beyond the walls of the hospital into the halls of government for Nick Ragone. “Creating an open dialogue among legislators, state agencies, and health care organizations gives all of us a different perspective,” he says. Ragone was recently appointed to the Read More
// By Ross K. Goldberg // Many of the people practicing health care public relations or marketing communications owe their educational roots to journalism school where they were taught, in no uncertain terms, that the elements of a good story are found in the five W’s. Who, what, where, when, and why became the Bible Read More
In the wake of three shootings in Texas and Ohio in August and September, Strategic Health Care Marketing reached out to Kena Lewis, APR, director, public affairs and media relations at Orlando Health in Orlando, Florida. Lewis managed communications after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 and wounded more than 50. We asked Read More
// By Wendy Stark Healy // How well prepared are you to help your organization manage the aftermath of a mass shooting? Comprehensive preplanning and practice are critical to navigating a chaotic, evolving situation. Sadly, it’s not a question of if but when. In the wake of three shootings in Texas and Ohio in August Read More
The evening of January 11, 2018, Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Health and Hancock Regional Hospital, got a call he’s not likely to soon forget. “Our administrator on call had received a call from the lab. They said there is something wrong with our computers,” says Long. Not long after, the nursing staff Read More
View from the C-Suite // By Althea Fung // The evening of January 11, 2018, Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Health and Hancock Regional Hospital, got a call he’s not likely to soon forget. “Our administrator on call had received a call from the lab. They said there is something wrong with our Read More
Pediatric hospitals and other facilities that treat children face a number of marketing challenges that health providers treating adults do not face. The two most significant barriers health care marketers must overcome are that they are marketing to parents, not the actual potential patient, and that parents do not want to think about children being Read More
// By Sheryl S. Jackson // Treatment for musculoskeletal conditions in children is a subspecialty within a subspecialty. How do you stand out in a highly competitive field? Los Angeles-based Orthopaedic Institute for Children has achieved success using its Sports Medicine Center and community outreach to extend brand and name recognition. Pediatric hospitals and other Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Your hospital may get high marks for caring for patients, but how well does it measure up in caring for your employees’ health? The Kansas Hospital Association (KHA) is taking a leadership role in encouraging a growing number of health systems to serve up more nutritious options in their Read More
Your hospital may get high marks for caring for patients, but how well does it measure up in caring for your employees’ health? The Kansas Hospital Association (KHA) is taking a leadership role in encouraging a growing number of health systems to serve up more nutritious options in their cafeterias and vending machines, with the Read More
Many great stories exist at Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC), just waiting to be told. Yet until recently, there was a shortage of opportunities and avenues to share most of them, says Patrick Kane, senior vice president, communications and business development of CCHC. This prompted Kane to take matters into his own hands to create a Read More
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. The findings have enabled the medical groups to be developed as an “ingredient brand” to bring value Read More
// 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
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Many great stories exist at Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC), just waiting to be told. Yet until recently, there was a shortage of opportunities and avenues to share most of them, says Patrick Kane, senior vice president, communications and business development of CCHC. This prompted Kane to take matters into Read More
The nation’s largest nonprofit health system, Ascension, has more than 153 hospitals in 22 states and 2,600 sites of care with 156,000 employees. It maintains health care services as well as a solutions division, which includes investment management, a ministry service center, and a venture capital fund. Despite its spread across varied regions and specialties, Read More
// By Melanie Graham // The nation’s largest nonprofit health system, Ascension, has more than 153 hospitals in 22 states and 2,600 sites of care with 156,000 employees. It maintains health care services as well as a solutions division, which includes investment management, a ministry service center, and a venture capital fund. Despite its spread Read More
What if your hospital is suddenly the center of national media attention for all the wrong reasons? What if a catastrophic event occurs and you must respond immediately? Do you know what to do? Do you have a crisis communications plan in place? In our new article, Paul Wood, vice president and chief communications officer Read More