Despite today's ever-tightening reimbursement environment, hospitals that have earned top honors for operating in the black while maintaining superior clinical performance make communications a key component of their strategic planning process. By using measurable strategies to promote high-quality service, it is easier than ever to demonstrate how effective marketing and PR affect the bottom line.
In this issue, we look at some top-performing hospitals and highlight how communications contributes to healthy margins and exceptional patient satisfaction.
Achieving national recognition, like being listed on HCIA's Top 100 Hospitals study, is an exciting affirmation of operational success, but the real work is in generating internal support for patient satisfaction goals and promoting a high-quality reputation to the community.
The focus for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Ill., ranked as a "Top 100" teaching hospital for five consecutive years, has been on maintaining a rock-solid reputation - both internally and externally - as a clinical leader. "It's an issue of sustainability," says David Loveland, Evanston's SVP of corporate relations, referring to his department's role in helping the hospital maintain prestigious rankings for superior service.
Evanston's communications department has become intimately involved with the process of measuring quality and finding ways to motivate employees to achieve patient satisfaction goals. Since 1994, when Evanston earned its first Top 100 slot, Loveland has made annual trips to HCIA's headquarters in Baltimore to understand and get updated on the ranking criteria. HCIA evaluates more than 6,000 acute care and specialty hospitals nationwide on eight quality indicators that include clinical, operational and financial measures.
In 1997, Evanston changed from a two-hospital organization to a regional healthcare system. Its prior recognition as a quality leader from reputable organizations like the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), HCIA and Press Ganey was an important component of the new identity campaign. Sure, these accolades were touted on marketing materials, but they also provided a backdrop for rewarding employees for exceptional work through the hospitals CARE awards program, says Joan Trezek, assistant VP of PR and marketing communications. CARE, an acronym for Considerate, Attentive, Responsive and Empathetic, rewards employees who achieve customer service and business efficiency goals.
For Megan Carella, PR and marketing manager of Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness, Fla., its Top 100 recognition reinforces the message that her department must be involved in continuous quality improvement initiatives.
As a relatively small community hospital, this recognition is especially impressive to physicians because it validates their clinical achievements and encourages loyalty. The Top 100 badge also provides a "reassuring" platform to promote Citrus' high-tech, personal touch brand of care to seniors in the Florida market.
(HCIA, http://www.hcia.com; Evanston Northwestern, David Loveland, Joan Trezek, 847/570-5101; Citrus Memorial, Megan Carella, 352/344-6501)