Hospitals Find their Place on Pinterest

The "In the News" board is made up of newsworthy CMN pins and re-pins from its member hospitals who are on Pinterest. (One of which, Dayton Children's Medical Center, has experienced great success with more than 400 followers.)

Curry created the "Champions" board to promote its year-long Champions program, which selects one young patient from each state to represent their hospital and state.

"Our Champions and their families have year-round community and national activities that are heavily documented, so Pinterest makes perfect sense to convey their journey," he says.

In the coming weeks and months, Curry hopes to create new boards that reflect the wide variety of fundraising programs Children's Miracle Network Hospitals oversees, from its college-driven Dance Marathon events to its Extra Life gaming fundraiser.

"Pinterest provides us the opportunity to share photos from around North America and create a sense of community for our hospitals and those supporting our work," he says. "We look forward to seeing more and more of our member hospitals getting ‘on board' and pinning!"

Hospitals do have a place on Pinterest—or any social media for that matter—so long as they understand their audience and the culture of the particular site that they are posting on. If you haven't done so already, test the Pinterest waters by creating a personal account and then decide if your organization has the ability to generate the content you need for a branded Pinterest page.

You could even share some healthy recipe tips—like garnishing that mac and cheese with turkey bacon.