When Community Hospitals Ail, An Infusion of Marketing Speeds Recovery
When Community Hospitals Ail, An Infusion of Marketing Speeds Recovery
of Marketing Speeds Recovery
by David Brimm, BrimmComm, Inc.
Writing in Vital Signs, a publication produced by the Massachusetts Medical emergency room visit to a community hospital: Society On Line, Charles A. Welch, M.D. noted the following in reference to an emergency room visit to a community hospital:
“It was everything one could hope for in a community hospital: friendly, competent, expedient, convenient and user-friendly. The experience was an important reminder of what treasures we have in our community hospitals. These hospitals, the products of generations of public stewardship and generosity, are the indispensable foundation of our health care system. They embody the familiar dictum: the right care at the right time in the right setting -- and they do it with compassion and competence.
Unfortunately, the existence of these hospitals is threatened as never before. They labor under inadequate reimbursement, the rising costs of delivering care, burdensome overhead expenses, a severe shortage of nurses and physicians, and a growing number of patients who are neither insured nor in the free care pool. Many of these hospitals are chronically on the brink of financial failure through no fault of their own, but they continue to deliver the best care possible.”
The Best Kept Secret
In just two paragraphs, Dr. Welch does a pretty good job summing up the state of community hospitals in the U.S. In particular, his assessment that community hospitals deliver “the best care possible.” What is missing from his assessment is that in general, community hospitals don’t always do a particularly good job reminding patients, staff, other physicians, insurers and community leaders about the important role they play in healthcare. The missing dimension is the need for community hospitals to do a better job defining their image and reinforcing all that they bring to the health and vitality of the community. In short: the under-utilization of marketing to help shape a community hospital’s reputation, and ultimately, their financial future.
We have been working with Paris Community Hospital, a 29-bed community hospital in Paris, Illinois on an ambitious identity program to better define their image in the community. It also addresses concerns that the local patient base, and even staff and physicians in the area, are not aware of the complete array of services that the hospital provides. Working with the hospital’s internal marketing manager, BrimmComm, has helped direct a comprehensive marketing and PR support program.
The first step was to retire the hospital’s dated logo and image materials, which didn’t convey the modern image of the hospital or reflect its range of patient services. This logo quickly captured the spirit of a revitalized community hospital and became an integral part of the marketing program.
Leveraging The Internet
Another major initiative was to update the hospital’s web site. With increasing regularity, consumers rely on the Internet for health care information. An interactive, inviting web site is often the first perception a patient or physician has of a medical facility.
Washington State University recently reported that libraries in seven community hospitals in the Northwest have recently connected to the Internet as part of a project carried out by the Regional Medical Library at the University of Washington. The project is called "From Bench to Bedside: Research and Testing of Internet Resources and Connections in Community Hospital Libraries."
"There are many unknowns relating to the implementation of networked resources and services in community hospitals," says Neil Rambo, Associate Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region. " Through this project we are exploring optimal technical, financial, and user models for extending access. We hope this project will be the first phase of an on-going effort to extend network access throughout the region."
Recognizing the importance of the web site, Paris Community Hospital’s site now has become a vital source of healthcare information with by-lined features by on-staff physicians, it allows patients to sign up for medical tests on line, provides updated outpatient services and special health events, and is used to post job openings and allow for on-line applications. In just a few months, the visits to the hospital web site have doubled, and the duration of each visit is lengthening, reflecting the vitality of the site.
Becoming The Community Health Care Information Source
One of the key strategies employed for Paris Community Hospital, and adopted by others, is to transform the hospital from strictly a site to go to when you’re sick or require a test, to a community resource that partners with the community to educate them about ways to stay healthy. It starts with health fairs and other patient outreach programs, but should also be combined with aggressive marketing tactics, including advertising and public relations.
Working with BrimmComm, Paris Community Hospital re-evaluated its advertising strategy, moving from small, periodic ads in the local newspaper promoting an event or physician, to an impactful full-page monthly color insert entitled “Staying Healthy.” With a bold design that employed the new logo, Staying Healthy emphasized a major theme (cancer awareness, diabetes, etc.) that was complemented by physician by-lines that helped give visibility to the medical staff while also reinforcing certain expertise in treatment and diagnostics. This was supported by a calendar of events and short items relating to preventive care. To give the insert greater distribution, it was posted on the hospital’s website.
The hospital’s public relations program was also evaluated. Short news items were replaced with more in-depth educational features that tied back to the hospital’s services and educated readers about preventive health. Releases also showcased new equipment and physicians.
An Investment In Future Growth
Chances are that most community hospitals have set aside limited resources for marketing because marketing is not perceived as an investment that impacts the bottom line. This assessment would be wrong, if one considers the direct and indirect revenue generated by marketing such as building outpatient revenue through greater recruitment of patients, more referrals from local physicians unaware of the full range of the hospital’s services, and increasing enrollment in hospital-sponsored fee-based educational programs for smoking cessation and weight control. Also factored in should be the benefits attained by helping physician recruitment and staff morale.
If a hospital does not have in-house marketing capabilities, it can be cost effective to bring in an outside marketing firm that can in essence become the hospital’s marketing department. Tapping into their unique skills, they can manage the entire program, freeing up time for supervisory personnel who can oversee the activities. If an in-house marketing function exists, an outside firm can work with on-staff marketing/development personnel to upgrade skills and add new dimensions to the range of marketing capabilities.
Progressive community hospitals today need to create a niche for themselves and seek ways to become a more vital part of the community health network. Marketing is a key to helping community hospitals identify new revenue streams and to compete in an the ever-challenging healthcare landscape.
When Community Hospitals Ail An Infusion of Marketing Speeds Recovery - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Brimm's Website.
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When Community Hospitals Ail, An Infusion
of Marketing Speeds Recovery
by David Brimm, BrimmComm, Inc.
Writing in Vital Signs, a publication produced by the Massachusetts Medical emergency room visit to a community hospital: Society On Line, Charles A. Welch, M.D. noted the following in reference to an emergency room visit to a community hospital:
“It was everything one could hope for in a community hospital: friendly, competent, expedient, convenient and user-friendly. The experience was an important reminder of what treasures we have in our community hospitals. These hospitals, the products of generations of public stewardship and generosity, are the indispensable foundation of our health care system. They embody the familiar dictum: the right care at the right time in the right setting -- and they do it with compassion and competence.
Unfortunately, the existence of these hospitals is threatened as never before. They labor under inadequate reimbursement, the rising costs of delivering care, burdensome overhead expenses, a severe shortage of nurses and physicians, and a growing number of patients who are neither insured nor in the free care pool. Many of these hospitals are chronically on the brink of financial failure through no fault of their own, but they continue to deliver the best care possible.”
The Best Kept Secret
In just two paragraphs, Dr. Welch does a pretty good job summing up the state of community hospitals in the U.S. In particular, his assessment that community hospitals deliver “the best care possible.” What is missing from his assessment is that in general, community hospitals don’t always do a particularly good job reminding patients, staff, other physicians, insurers and community leaders about the important role they play in healthcare. The missing dimension is the need for community hospitals to do a better job defining their image and reinforcing all that they bring to the health and vitality of the community. In short: the under-utilization of marketing to help shape a community hospital’s reputation, and ultimately, their financial future.
We have been working with Paris Community Hospital, a 29-bed community hospital in Paris, Illinois on an ambitious identity program to better define their image in the community. It also addresses concerns that the local patient base, and even staff and physicians in the area, are not aware of the complete array of services that the hospital provides. Working with the hospital’s internal marketing manager, BrimmComm, has helped direct a comprehensive marketing and PR support program.
The first step was to retire the hospital’s dated logo and image materials, which didn’t convey the modern image of the hospital or reflect its range of patient services. This logo quickly captured the spirit of a revitalized community hospital and became an integral part of the marketing program.
Leveraging The Internet
Another major initiative was to update the hospital’s web site. With increasing regularity, consumers rely on the Internet for health care information. An interactive, inviting web site is often the first perception a patient or physician has of a medical facility.
Washington State University recently reported that libraries in seven community hospitals in the Northwest have recently connected to the Internet as part of a project carried out by the Regional Medical Library at the University of Washington. The project is called "From Bench to Bedside: Research and Testing of Internet Resources and Connections in Community Hospital Libraries."
"There are many unknowns relating to the implementation of networked resources and services in community hospitals," says Neil Rambo, Associate Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region. " Through this project we are exploring optimal technical, financial, and user models for extending access. We hope this project will be the first phase of an on-going effort to extend network access throughout the region."
Recognizing the importance of the web site, Paris Community Hospital’s site now has become a vital source of healthcare information with by-lined features by on-staff physicians, it allows patients to sign up for medical tests on line, provides updated outpatient services and special health events, and is used to post job openings and allow for on-line applications. In just a few months, the visits to the hospital web site have doubled, and the duration of each visit is lengthening, reflecting the vitality of the site.
Becoming The Community Health Care Information Source
One of the key strategies employed for Paris Community Hospital, and adopted by others, is to transform the hospital from strictly a site to go to when you’re sick or require a test, to a community resource that partners with the community to educate them about ways to stay healthy. It starts with health fairs and other patient outreach programs, but should also be combined with aggressive marketing tactics, including advertising and public relations.
Working with BrimmComm, Paris Community Hospital re-evaluated its advertising strategy, moving from small, periodic ads in the local newspaper promoting an event or physician, to an impactful full-page monthly color insert entitled “Staying Healthy.” With a bold design that employed the new logo, Staying Healthy emphasized a major theme (cancer awareness, diabetes, etc.) that was complemented by physician by-lines that helped give visibility to the medical staff while also reinforcing certain expertise in treatment and diagnostics. This was supported by a calendar of events and short items relating to preventive care. To give the insert greater distribution, it was posted on the hospital’s website.
The hospital’s public relations program was also evaluated. Short news items were replaced with more in-depth educational features that tied back to the hospital’s services and educated readers about preventive health. Releases also showcased new equipment and physicians.
An Investment In Future Growth
Chances are that most community hospitals have set aside limited resources for marketing because marketing is not perceived as an investment that impacts the bottom line. This assessment would be wrong, if one considers the direct and indirect revenue generated by marketing such as building outpatient revenue through greater recruitment of patients, more referrals from local physicians unaware of the full range of the hospital’s services, and increasing enrollment in hospital-sponsored fee-based educational programs for smoking cessation and weight control. Also factored in should be the benefits attained by helping physician recruitment and staff morale.
If a hospital does not have in-house marketing capabilities, it can be cost effective to bring in an outside marketing firm that can in essence become the hospital’s marketing department. Tapping into their unique skills, they can manage the entire program, freeing up time for supervisory personnel who can oversee the activities. If an in-house marketing function exists, an outside firm can work with on-staff marketing/development personnel to upgrade skills and add new dimensions to the range of marketing capabilities.
Progressive community hospitals today need to create a niche for themselves and seek ways to become a more vital part of the community health network. Marketing is a key to helping community hospitals identify new revenue streams and to compete in an the ever-challenging healthcare landscape.
When Community Hospitals Ail An Infusion of Marketing Speeds Recovery - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Brimm's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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