Vince Kuraitis, principal and founder of Better Health Technologies in Boise, ID, and Dr. Thomas Wilson, founder and president of Trajectory Healthcare and board chairman of the Population Health Impact Institute in Loveland, OH, discuss the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' recent decision to end the Medicare Health Support project this year. This is part 1 of a two-part podcast.
Hospital and health system marketers are sure to recognize their own service line directors, board members, and various and sundry physician leaders in the article "Beware of Monkeys" in this month's issue of HealthLeaders magazine. The monkeys in question? Those folks who drive to work and see that the competition has put up a billboard. And who, regardless of whether the billboard is any good or whether billboards even work anyway, want a billboard for their pet project, too. Monkey see, monkey do.
It's a common challenge for healthcare marketers who must say no to requests that fall outside of the strategic plan and/or the marketing budget.
What's worse, though, is that these requests don't always come from pushy egomaniacs who think their particular service line or specialty is of the utmost importance and that all other departments are insignificant and not worthy of any marketing expenditures whatsoever. They also come from the absolute nicest people in the organization, people who are doing worthwhile and valuable work that just doesn't contribute in any significant way to the bottom line or merit even a footnote in the strategic plan.
In other words, you don't just have to say no to the howler monkeys. You have to turn down the sweet little pygmy marmosets, too.
The article includes some excellent advice for how to handle these delicate conversations. Susan Stewart, director of marketing and public relations for Humility of Mary Health Partners in Youngstown, OH, makes it sound easy: "I often ask the individual that I'm talking to if their idea is the most strategic way for us to continue to tell our story," she tells our reporter, senior editor Maureen Larkin.
And that tactic will work for a C-suiter who had a hand in developing the strategic plan, especially if his or her bonus is tied to its success. But I'm guessing that a lot of monkeys would scratch their heads at that one. For the nicer monkey, in particular, I like Susan Dubuque's solution. Marketers can create a menu of inexpensive or free promotions that non-core specialties can use to promote their services, Dubuque, president of Neathawk Dubuque & Packett, a Richmond, VA-based marketing and advertising agency, says in the article.
What it really boils down to is that you have to have people skills. You have to know how to talk to people, to appease them and negotiate with them without losing sight of your own goals. It's just one more skill that the modern healthcare marketer must add to his or her growing repertoire: The ability to quiet down those howler monkeys and give the marmosets some love and attention, too.
February, which has been declared American Heart month by the American Cancer Society, is a popular month for heart health campaigns. However, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville, SC, has found a way to stand out with a creative online campaign that brings simplicity and ownership to the cause.
Though ownership of a campaign is an important factor that is considered by most facilities when developing a campaign, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System took it one step further by incorporating the campaign concept as the major focus on their Website. When viewing their home page, everything from the main banner image to the copy throughout supports their push for heart health.
The events listed focus primarily on those that center on the heart and general health and the stories support ways for patients to improve their health and their understanding of the heart. One unique download takes a Valentine's themed-approach at providing patients with a print out of warning signs for a heart attack called, "A Love Letter to Me." The letter informs the patient that though they may not think they are at risk they could be, and provides a list of the warning signs and symptoms for both men and women.
Of course the basic contact information for the health system is also included within the site, but it is minimal in comparison to the presence the campaign has on the pages. What truly makes this campaign what it is, is the creativity behind the concepts and the way they were incorporated; like the rotating banners featuring fun and colorful illustrations of hearts in different cartoon-like situations and places. Overall, it's the simplified approach which makes it so appealing and user-friendly.
Kandace McLaughlin is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kmclaughlin@healthleadersmedia.com If you are a marketer submitting a campaign on behalf of your facility or client, please ensure you have permission before doing so.
U.S. cancer deaths rose by more than 5,000 in 2005, a somewhat disappointing reversal of a two-year downward trend, the American Cancer Society said in a report. The cancer death rate has been dropping since the early 1990s, and early in this decade was declining by about 1 percent a year.
Former legislators, a retired Minnesota Viking and representatives of business, labor and medicine are urging Minnesotans to press politicians to adopt new methods for preventing and treating chronic disease. The push comes as Minnesota legislators prepare to present a proposal designed to strengthen care for people with chronic illness, and to save money.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has announced plans to help the uninsured with new, low-cost health insurance, vastly expanded coverage for children and a pilot program offering low-cost primary care in 14 counties. The plans would be required to guarantee coverage to all uninsured Floridians age 19 to 64, and Crist said the cost would be $150 a month.
The World Privacy Forum is warning consumers about the potential pitfalls of using newly popular services that consolidate personal health records. Some of the records are kept by companies that are not subject to current federal regulations on privacy and security, according to the Forum.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has shelved a cost-cutting plan to shut all but one of the county's healthcare clinics and reduce services at its six comprehensive outpatient health centers. Although healthcare advocates for the poor applauded, some supervisors questioned whether the proposal would hurt the indigent and uninsured people who depend on the county for their healthcare and warned that private clinics might not have the ability to treat displaced patients.
Kimberly Ryan, former chief operating officer for Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, has taken over CEO duties at the 200-bed Emory Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, GA. Ryan's experience at Tulane Medical Center included the evacuation of the facility after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She is credited with helping manage the rebuilding of the hospital after the hurricane, according to a release.
Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) has toughened politicians' threat to force the transfer of management of Grady Memorial Hospital to a nonprofit group if local officials fail to act. The legislator introduced a bill to force the hospital to make the change. Georgia-based Republican leaders and Atlanta businesspeople have promised millions of extra dollars for the financially strapped Grady in exchange for the shift of power from a politically appointed board to a nonprofit corporation.
