2011 Fall Conference Presentations

They’re Part of the Family, So Why Are We Feuding?
Jennifer Benz & Tess Niehaus

A growing area of responsibility for hospital marketers is the employed-physician practice. When new employed doctors join your staff, chances are they have specific expectations about how they should be marketed. But how do you manage the doctors’ expectations versus what patients want and what you as a marketer know works best? Learn from Jennifer Benz and Tess Niehaus how one St. Louis area hospital generated measurable strategies to market its employed-physician practices, while balancing all of the issues mentioned above. Three case studies will be shared that address common scenarios.

Writing for the Web in 2011: Meet Your New Best Friends – Search Engines, Meta Tags, and GeoTargeting
Matthew Dillingham

Think you know all there is to know about writing for the web? Don’t be so sure - the web is a constantly evolving medium. We think you might still have some new friends to make this year. In this session, attendees will learn about search engine optimization principles, insight from the New York Times on organizing web content, best practices to write more effectively for the web and your local market, and technical pieces that might be limiting your physicians from showing up in searches. Three things to consider:

•Content organization – how this differs from print, and how to keep online readers “turning the page” when there isn’t one
•The web is a visual medium – what should you do about it?
•The impatience and impertinence of web users – they don’t read your content. The fix? Optimize it for search and increase reads of your well-crafted content.

We’ll discuss a few unique case studies, share some quick tips on hospital search engine optimization, and arm you with all the knowledge you need to unlock your website’s potential to reach more patients through improved web content.

Pivoting: How Extraordinary Organizations Excel in a Dynamic Environment
Michael Arena, Ph.D., Innovation Institute

Organizations like Apple, PayPal, and WikiLeaks have distinguished themselves through their ability to pivot. Rather than clinging to a bias for order and control,these organizations have found ways to actively respond in the dynamic nature of today’s connected world by turning, not leaping, towards a new future. Their approach is part evolution and part revolution, relying heavily on a series of iterations, or small moves. Pivoting is a responsive, discontinuous process that leverages the power of a simple turn early in the development cycle, creating the potential to magnify into a dramatic change across time. To be successful in a connected world, organizations must learn to pivot. This session will review the new disciplines required to take advantage of this approach.

The Cautious Consumer: 10 Tactics to Engage Them Post-Recession
Mary Alice Czerwonka & Linda MacCracken

Few would disagree that these are trying economic times, compounded by the uncertainties surrounding unfolding health care reform. In this challenging environment, how do health care marketers urge consumers to take the plunge, and pay attention to delayed or elective health issues? Examine this dilemma from a left brain (research findings) right brain (proven creative strategies) perspective to help you turn apathy into interest and ultimately utilization. You’ll learn where to focus limited marketing resources for the greatest revenue opportunity, what kind of targeted, relevant advertising overcomes consumer reluctance to seek elective health care and how hospitals and health systems can emerge from the recession with better financial results and enhanced reputations through effective marketing and advertising.

•Content organization – how this differs from print, and how to keep online readers “turning the page” when there isn’t one
•The web is a visual medium – what should you do about it?
•The impatience and impertinence of web users – they don’t read your content. The fix? Optimize it for search and increase reads of your well-crafted content.

CON: Summit or Plateau?
Dawn Carter, President, Health Planning Source

Is CON an effective climbing tool for reaching the summit or a symptom of altitude sickness that prevents us from leaving the plateau? Since the demise of Certificate of Need at the federal level, those states that have chosen to continue some form of the regulatory process continually face challenges to its effectiveness. In this session, we’ll explore data-driven facts about those states with and without CON regulations. Does CON really make a difference in the cost and quality of care? How does CON affect access? With the turbulent weather of reform, is CON still visible from the summit, or something we’ve left far behind? In addition to discussing CON from a regulatory and policy perspective, we will also provide planners’ views on effective strategy and planning—with and without CON.

We’ll discuss a few unique case studies, share some quick tips on hospital search engine optimization, and arm you with all the knowledge you need to unlock your website’s potential to reachmore patients through improved web content.

Employee Engagement: A Business Imperative
Brandon Melton

Intuitively health care executives and managers believe that engaged employees are a prerequisite to achieving sustained organizational success. The Lifespan Health System in Rhode Island has completed a nine-year initiative focused on three key questions:
•Is there a correlation between employee engagement and organizational performance?
•What are the specific people practices that are driving employee engagement?
•How can Lifespan better invest the money it spends annually on its people resources?

Following the presentation, participants will be able to: identify at least five performance indicators, define four criteria that can be used to calculate the employee engagement score and list seven categories of people practices that can be used as key drivers of employee engagement. This is a great success story as shared by the executive practitioner whose team
dramatically turned around employee engagement results for his organization.

Cut Through the Clutter with Micro Campaigns
Presentation pt 1
presentation pt 2
Presentation pt 3
presentation pt 4
Gary Mueller

Are you stuck in a rut, implementing the same service line tactics and talking to the same audiences year after year? Have shrinking budgets left you struggling to deliver your messages in unique ways? Then maybe it's time for a shift in thinking-and move from traditional, general service line campaigns to a series of highly-targeted, frequently-changing micro campaigns for the symptomatic audience. Let Gary Mueller show you how in this fast-paced and thought-provoking presentation that will prove that even conservative providers can capture attention and convert prospects to patients when they deliver emotional messages in unexpected ways.

CEO Issues Got You Up All Night? Find a Cure
Carolyn Merriman

CEO’s have a tough and thankless job these days with difficult strategic challenges bound by regulations and financial constraints. There are many challenges keeping your CEO awake at night, many of which fall to you for solutions. What is at the top of their list – and what can you do to help? Understanding these and learning how to navigate through the issues is critical for overall success. Identify current challenges at both a national and local level - ACO model demands, academic strains, market vulnerability and business development needs. Realize the implications, your role, and how you can apply targeted tactics and insights to alleviate sleepless nights for all.

Planning KeynoTe: Healthcare 2012: How did we get here, and where are we going?
Ron Paulus, MD, MBA, President & CEO, Mission Health System
Presentation Pt 1
Presentation Pt 2

This session will provide an overview of major milestones in quality, cost and policy that have produced our current healthcare challenge. In addition, the key elements of future success from the vantage point of multiple healthcare stakeholders, including: providers, payers, businesses and government will be addressed. Implications for critical healthcare strategy components will be discussed.

Avoid Altitude Sickness and Marketing Malaise by Marketing the Brand “YOU”
Anne West

Healthcare marketers are great at promoting everything from brain surgery to bariatric programs, OB/GYN to osteoporosis detection. Yet, when it comes to marketing ourselves as the expert within the organization, we often display symptoms of high altitude illnesses like headache, dizziness or shortness of breath. When you (and your function) are well positioned as effective communication counsel with senior leaders, you’ll be seen as a valuable team member in leading your organization to new heights in any situation – from marketing a new service to responding to a crisis. Adapt to a new altitude by approaching your CEO with new ideas for enhancing communications and his image and role in the organization. Reach new peaks to evaluate and redefine existing communication strategies and avenues and position yourself as a valuable addition to teams. Understand the value in promoting the brand of “you” while also positioning the strategic value of marketing initiatives and the expertise of the entire marketing team (internal staff and external partners) as key contributors to organizational success. Level out and take away 10 selling tips to use with your team, your supervisor or your leadership.

Harnessing the Power of Research in South Carolina
Jay Moskowitz, Ph.D., President, Health Sciences South Carolina

More than seven years ago, the leaders of South Carolina’s three research universities and three largest health systems came together with a shared vision of improving the state’s health and economic well being through health sciences research and education. These diverse and sometimes competing institutions chose to collaborate because the needs were painfully obvious. Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) leadership believed then, as we do today, that HSSC could be a powerful catalyst for change.

South Carolina has accomplished much with this unique statewide collaborative. It has allowed us to complement our existing intellectual infrastructure with world-class researchers from esteemed institutions from other states. It attracted the largest grants made by the health care division of The Duke Endowment to fund health care quality and patient safety initiatives. It is now enabling us to redefine modern medicine and in so doing, improve the health status of our citizens and spur economic growth.

Crafting Creative Content
Melba Newsome & Beth Howard

Just because you write about the same thing every day is no excuse for boring yourself or your intended audience. Journalists and writers Melba Newsome and Beth Howard will help you put more creativity into your day-to-day writing by crafting attention-grabbing leads, finding compelling anecdotes and avoiding jargon and press-release speak. Recharge your communication perspectives while picking up some new ideas for your multiple writing assignments and opportunities.

Strategy Activation: Moving from Design to Execution
Justin Holland, Principal, GE Healthcare

Few hospital systems struggle with developing a strategic plan. However, implementing the strategy in a way that delivers results is another matter. This session will explore the characteristics of organizations capable of balancing near-term performance with innovation that is required for a different future.

Key Themes:

•A competitive strategy must encompass an operational infrastructure that connects innovation and strategy to execution and sustained results.
•Leadership must provide a platform for engaged and accountable talent, commitment to patients and to each other.
•Innovation and strategy execution requires a custom organizational model and a commitment to disciplined experimentation.

Generation Crossroads—When X, Y, and Boomers Collide
Eric Rowles

What happens when the diverse values, work ethic, and life priorities of multiple generations come to a crossroads? Welcome to 2012, an unprecedented era in our workforce where 3-4 generations still find themselves working side by side. Prepare yourself for a fast, fun and laughter-filled presentation—perfect for a Friday morning. You’ll leave knowing how to tap into the specialized work strategies for each generation and, in the process, may even find yourself moving along to 60 generations of music that will be used in this one-of-a-kind presentation.

CHPRMS

Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Society