A new branding effort for Saint Thomas Health Services, a 4-hospital system headquartered in Nashville, takes a unique look at life. In an extremely competitive regional market, the system decided the way to stand out from its competitors was to guarantee it would be a permanent part of the community, demonstrate its continued dedication to faith, and emphasize the importance it places on the emotional and physical health of its patients.
Saint Thomas Health Services focused its initial efforts on Baptist Hospital in Nashville and its two primary service lines, orthopedics and obstetrics. Working with D S Tombras, an ad agency with offices in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., they created the "We're Here for Life" campaign, which captured life's most emotional and memorable moments. (Click to view full sized version.)
From the birth of a child to being rehabilitated after surgery, the multi-integrated campaign initiative features modern production techniques, such as fast-motion filming, accompanied by modern music for their commercials and beautifully planned imagery for their print collateral. "The message was significant and the production values helped to make it stick out and break out of the clutter," says Steve Dennison, president of D S Tombras. "This reflects positively on the overall brand."
Another important campaign message for Baptist was 'let our faith be your strength.'
"We were interviewing people on the street to get a community perspective and were being told the most amazing stories about the care and compassion at Baptist," said Steve Castle, vice president and account supervisor at D S Tombras. "One woman even said that before her surgery at Baptist the staff came in and prayed with her. That's reassuring to people and it's a significant differentiator in this campaign."
The campaign helped Baptist and Saint Thomas Health Services increase consumer preference by 30 percent and unaided awareness by 38 percent.
When I look back on the healthcare marketing stories I've covered this year, there are two interviews that stand out from the rest. The first was with M. Bridget Duffy, MD, the Cleveland Clinic's chief experience officer. It wasn't her trendy new title that made an impression on me, but how clearly she made the case for the business benefits of internal and customer satisfaction. The second person who made a lasting impression on me was Dorothy Wooddell, the 69-year-old retired schoolteacher who volunteers at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA. Along with politicians, CEOs, and activists, she was one of the 20 people who make healthcare better featured in our November 2007 cover story. We chose her as a symbol for all those who make patients' experiences as pleasant as possible, given the circumstances. Thanks to these two stories and countless others, 2007 will stick in my mind as the year of the consumer.
There's one common thread that runs through all of the hot topics I covered this year, from price and quality transparency to retail clinics to medical tourism. There's a reason that hospitals are overhauling their menus, offering concierge services, installing wireless Internet and adding private, curtained beds, televisions and 30-minute guarantees in the ER. There's a reason internal communications is so hot right now. There's a reason hospitals are hiring staff and sending them out into the field to connect with referring physicians. The driving force behind all of these trends? It's the powerful patient consumer.
Consumers today have choices--and lots of them. They can comparison shop online and then go down the street to another hospital, drive to the mall for a quick checkup, or fly to Mexico for cosmetic surgery. They won't stand for green-flavored gelatin and Salisbury steak the texture of cardboard delivered at 5 p.m. whether they're hungry or not when they can order from a gourmet organic menu and choose a delivery time that's convenient for them. They won't wait in line if they don't have to.
Increasingly, hospitals are treating physicians and other employees more like customer/consumers, too. Why? Because they are the ones who interact with the patient/consumer and most influence his or her experience.
If you'd asked me to predict the impact of consumer-driven healthcare three years ago, I'm not sure that I would have gotten it right. Even last year I might have hemmed and hawed and wondered if it wasn't one of those buzzwords that's hot one day and gone the next. This year, however, Duffy and Woodell and others like them convinced me that consumerism and the focus on patient experience are here to stay.
Despite the need for more doctors in rural areas, a hospital that serves workers and their families in Eastern Washington farm country could fall victim to a crackdown on boutique hospitals that cater to the urban rich. Wenatchee Valley is one of a handful of doctor-owned hospitals nationally that face a substantial loss in money to treat their poorest patients amid a push to curb Medicare payments to such hospitals with specialized services only.
Cases in which doctors were accused of botching operations while undergoing treatment for drugs or alcohol have led to criticism of rehab programs that allow thousands of U.S. physicians to keep their addictions hidden from their patients.
A proposed lease transferring management of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta to a private, nonprofit corporation requires the new board to break even within six years while maintaining Grady's mission to care for the poor.
Vanderbilt Medical Group Westhaven is has announced the opening of a new Primary Care Practice in Franklin, TN. The practice will offer a full range of primary care services and are accepting patients of all ages.