Funding constraints may limit the amount of money that can be spent on traditional types of marketing, such as advertising and brochures.
That's when hospital PR and marketing teams need to get creative. One Florida hospital, Homestead Hospital, found that a grassroots campaign relying on in-house resources and
published articles, among other things, was not only low-cost, but also very effective in accomplishing the goals of the hospital's marketing campaign.
Low Cost, High Impact
In 1999, things were difficult for the Miami area hospital. It was facing losses of about $6 million, due largely to the high volume of indigent patients -- many of them
children -- seen in its Emergency Center. As the fourth-busiest emergency room in Miami-Dade County, the 120-bed rural hospital clearly needed more paying patients.
The answer was a new dedicated five-bed Children's Emergency Room. The hospital's marketing and public relations department helped make the unit a success, bringing in more
pediatric patients covered by Medicaid and other insurance programs. This meant more revenue.
The new unit also helped the hospital provide quicker, more efficient services to all emergency patients, which helped increase its appeal to the more affluent.
"Since we opened the Children's Emergency Room in May, our pediatric emergency volume has more than doubled," says Francisco Medina, M.D., who oversees the emergency department
at Homestead, as well as at nearby Baptist Children's Hospital. (Both hospitals are affiliates of Baptist Health Systems of South Florida.)
Multi-Faceted Goals
The main objective of the marketing and public relations staff for Homestead Hospital and Baptist Health System was to promote the new service to local residents and doctors.
More specifically, the goals were to showcase the Children's ER to employees, physicians and the community; increase community awareness of Homestead Hospital's children's
emergency services and growing pediatric capabilities; and increase the level of donor support for Homestead Hospital Foundation's capital campaign.
Additional objectives included supporting the strategic goals of improving patient satisfaction in the ER overall; boosting hospital revenue by increasing the volume of
pediatric patients with insurance or Medicaid coverage; and to support the expansion of pediatric services to include a step-down observation unit and additional pediatric
specialists.
The marketing and public relations staff planned three separate open house events for the employees, doctors and community members in advance of the April, 1999 official
opening of the new unit.
Staff also placed an ad in the local South Dade News Leader, produced news releases and sent a direct mail letter to middle-income residents in the hospital's service
area.
In addition, the medical director of the Children's ER and the hospital's CEO attended civic club meetings and talked about the new and improved emergency services at Homestead
Hospital.
The CEO sent a letter to 19,000 of the hospital's "neighbors" that detailed its expanded ER services, including the Children's ER.
A panel card in English and Spanish was distributed to doctors' offices, clinics, schools and daycare centers.
An article was written in the Baptist Health System's Resources magazine, a quarterly publication sent to 180,000 households in South Florida.
Newsletters & Fairs
The unit was promoted to staff physicians in Medical Memo, a system-wide newsletter for medical staff member. Finally, a children's health fair was held in October 1999,
providing an opportunity to discuss the hospitals new emergency care facility.
Monthly pediatric ER volume increased from 286 in April 1999, when the unit opened, to 819 one year later. Because of this increase in volume, the unit extended its hours to
24-hours per day.
On the financial side, an average of 72 % of total ER patients are now insured compared to 57 % before the unit opened. In addition, the Homestead Hospital Foundation has
raised $350,000 for children's services.
(Homestead Hospital, 305/596-6534)
Objectives of Campaign
The main goals of the marketing and public relations staff for Homestead Hospital and Baptist Health System were:
1. To showcase the Children's ER to employees, physicians and the community.
2. Increase community awareness of Homestead Hospital's children's emergency services and growing pediatric capabilities.
3. Increase the level of donor support for Homestead Hospital Foundation's capital campaign.