// By Lisa D. Ellis // When a patient experiences a life-threatening emergency at LifeBridge Health in Baltimore, help is summoned through automated notifications from the centralized call center, which sends a message right to members of the response team’s phones. This is one of the many benefits that care teams experience, thanks to LifeBridge’s Read More
“What if you and your hospital were measuring patient satisfaction incorrectly?” posits James A. Gardner. “Worse, what if you were focused on improving things that didn’t really matter — and overlooking things that did?” Gardner leads national market and business development efforts for MedTouch, a digital marketing agency serving hospitals and health systems nationally. “In Read More
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
What if you and your hospital were measuring patient satisfaction incorrectly? Worse, what if you were focused on improving things that didn’t really matter — and overlooking things that did? // By James A. Gardner // In a health care setting, satisfaction focuses on the gap between patients’ expectations and their experiences. Importantly, patient experience Read More
The tragic suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain have thrust mental health issues into the limelight, catching the attention of people from all walks of life. Further, the recent rash of shootings in schools and at public events both in the U.S. and abroad have also raised widespread awareness about 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
// By Lisa D. Ellis // In recent months, stories about mental illness have dominated social media channels and the mainstream press. The tragic suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain have thrust mental health issues into the limelight, catching the attention of people from all walks of life. Further, the 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
In January, after 16 years at Scripps Health in San Diego, California, with eight of those years as vice president of marketing and communications, Don Stanziano took on the role of chief marketing officer at Geisinger. The move to Geisinger in Pennsylvania was a big change — geographically, organizationally, and lifestyle-wise.
// By Althea Fung // Picture this: A patient goes to her primary care physician with complaints of dark, dry skin patches on her arms. The doctor, who is a staff physician at a large health system in New York City, quickly determines that she has acanthosis nigricans and prescribes a topical ointment. The doctor Read More
What would you do if your ads were actually sending your customers to your competition? Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University recently faced this challenging scenario. Further complicating matters, the brand had gone through several name changes in recent years, leaving its target audience confused about what the health system was and what it stood 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
// By Lisa D. Ellis // What would you do if your ads were actually sending your customers to your competition? Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University recently faced this challenging scenario. Further complicating matters, the brand had gone through several name changes in recent years, leaving its target audience confused about what the health Read More
// By Sheryl S. Jackson // After 16 years at Scripps Health in San Diego, California, with eight of those years as vice president of marketing and communications, the move to Geisinger in Pennsylvania was a big change — geographically, organizationally, and lifestyle-wise. “I have not been ‘new’ to an organization in a very long Read More
Have you considered contracting your services directly with large employers in your area? There is a growing movement to bring employers and health care organizations together to provide high-quality care for patients while managing costs and making them more predictable. Changing forces in the health care field are leading organizations to implement a variety of Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Have you considered contracting your services directly with large employers in your area? There is a growing movement to bring employers and health care organizations together to provide high-quality care for patients while managing costs and making them more predictable. SHSMD recently released Futurescan 2018-2023: Healthcare Trends and Implications, Read More
“Until very recently, advertising aimed at combatting drug use has pretty much been within the purview of government and nonprofit anti-drug organizations,” notes copywriter and regular SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “Partnership for a Drug Free America, for example, ran a famous TV spot during the 1980s showing an egg getting cracked into a hot frying Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // Until very recently, advertising aimed at combatting drug use has pretty much been within the purview of government and nonprofit anti-drug organizations. Partnership for a Drug Free America, for example, ran a famous TV spot during the 1980s showing an egg getting cracked into a hot Read More
When the powerhouse brands of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase recently pooled resources to form a new independent health care delivery system to serve 1 million collective employees, an entire industry took notice. While lots of questions remain as to how the company will operate, one thing is clear: The health care industry has Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // When the powerhouse brands of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase recently pooled resources to form a new independent health care delivery system to serve 1 million collective employees, an entire industry took notice. While lots of questions remain as to how the company will operate, one thing is Read More
When the movie Wonder was released in fall 2017, sharing the fictional story of a fifth-grader named Auggie coping with a facial difference called Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), Dayton Children’s Hospital saw this as an exciting opportunity to raise awareness about groundbreaking treatments offered for children with TCS through its own Craniofacial Center. “We do Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // When the movie Wonder was released in fall 2017, sharing the fictional story of a fifth-grader named Auggie coping with a facial difference called Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), Dayton Children’s Hospital saw this as an exciting opportunity to raise awareness about groundbreaking treatments offered for children with TCS through Read More