In 1995, after a meningitis outbreak developed in the community of Norfolk, Va., a high school boy died and the community panicked due to lack of information about the disease. Local health system marketers came to the rescue by providing comprehensive information about the illness on television.
That "rescue effort" was part of a campaign, dubbed Family Health Project, developed by Sentara Health System (Norfolk, Va.) to help consumers make informed health decisions and improve the overall health of the community Sentara serves.
The center of the Family Health Project is a series of television programs that run on local ABC-affiliate, WVEC. The shows are produced as a public service for the Norfolk area but also showcases the health systems' medical staff.
Sentara, a locally-owned managed healthcare provider, is the Hampton Roads area's largest healthcare provider, and it is the most diverse. It's composed of hospitals, medical centers, HMOs and other healthcare organizations. The system employs more than 900 people and its service area includes more than 2 million people.
Sentara's Campaign
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While one of the health system's prerogatives is public health - Sentara's challenge was to develop a way, other than traditional advertising, to introduce its physicians to the public and simultaneously provide valuable health information. The Family Health Project was thus conceived.
"We were looking for a way to get up-to-date health and medical information to the public to improve the health status of the community," said Deborah Myers, director of public affairs at Sentara.
While traditional advertising was great for brand-recognition, Myers and her team wanted to use the media to inform the public about its services.
The project was designed to promote the importance of primary care physicians because Sentara knew that managed care was making strong inroads to the community, Myers recalled.
Teaming Up With ABC Affiliate
One of the most important steps in the campaign was teaming up with ABC affiliate WVEC.
"It was a happy marriage from the beginning," said Myers. Myers and health program producer Sherri Brennen of WVEC developed the project. While the shows are produced and taped at the station - health system marketers come up with the story ideas, scripts and find the "talent." Sentara's large resource of physicians were tapped to host the shows based on their specialties.
Because the shows are produced by the television station, the campaign has no extraneous cost to the health system.
Sentara Health SystemLocation: 6015 Poplar Hall Dr., Hampton Roads, VA 23502 Founded: 1888, as the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Coverage: More than 160,000 people Employees More than 900 staff members, including 20 marketers Facilities: 40 care giving sites including four hospitals, nine assisted living centers and 20 healthcare centers |
Three TV shows have aired each year since 1995. Some of the topics have included depression, the decisions families must make regarding elderly members and parenting tactics.
An 800 number also is provided for viewers to request information packets on each show topic. The shows are followed by 30-second health tips aired at various times of the day.
"All of the shows have received a lot of response," said Myers. "People were really hungry for it."
While marketers had plenty of show ideas, they decided to ask their patients directly. For example all enrollees receive a free three-ring binder called the "Family Health Journal" that is used to record all family health information. In order to receive the binder, families have to fill out a questionnaire on their health to build a database marketing system and provide ideas for new shows.
According to Meyers, Sentara is continually pursuing more timely show topics in addition to the three slotted for each year, such as the emergency meningitis special.
For example, at the peak of allergy season, Sentara aired a special on allergies. The shows are also available on video at 24 public and military libraries and can be checked out or viewed at the library.
Sentara plans to go online with information about the project by the end of May. "We want to be one of the first out there providing the information on the Internet," said Myers.
(Sentara, 804/455-7000)