Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, N.Y., had a formidable
vision for the future: to re-establish its credibility and pronounce
itself a leader in medical excellence.
After an 18-month strike over employee contracts at the hospital
(which then was known as House of the Good Samaritan Hospital), its
reputation, revenue and morale hit an all-time low.
With a $5.6 million debt looming over the hospital, and a small,
divided community looking on, a five-year plan was developed to bring
the sinking hospital out of its slump. With a little research and a
vision for future success in tow, the hospital began working with
Saatchi & Saatchi Business Communications, Rochester, N.Y., to make
Samaritan's vision a reality.
Planning For the Future
A six-month planning phase ending in late 1993 marked the
beginning of the five-year outline of strategies and goals. Specific
plans for the first two years, 1994 and 1995, and general plans for
1996-1998 were set.
Now, for the research.
The Gallup Organization researched key audiences, including
patients, physicians and other professional staff, concentrating on
attitudes, strengths and weaknesses that needed to be changed.
Findings showed that Samaritan was the most well known hospital in the
area, but not for medical specialties. Hospital physicians were
dissatisfied with staff support, which can be directly linked to lack
of regional referrals.
The message that needed to be sent out was that Samaritan was a
quality hospital that could provide quality, specialized care.
Timothy Gleason, director of marketing at Samaritan Medical
Center says that, "No one, I don't care how good their image was, can
come out of a long strike without damaged credibility." Tiffany
Bridgeman, senior account executive at Saatchi & Saatchi, agrees and
says that, "focus group research showed that people thought,
`something really bad happened at Samaritan' but most couldn't
pinpoint what, besides the strike."
Program objectives included establishing a strong identity,
positioning Samaritan as a trusted, regional referral center and
improving communications with consumers. The medical specialties
known as the "Centers of Excellence" (cancer treatment, sports
medicine, neonatology and neurosurgery) needed to be highlighted and
publicly recognized.
A starting budget of $250,000 in 1994 grew to $900,000 in
1995--granted to ensure continuing success. The common brand and logo
of Samaritan were established, with the openings of nursing homes in
Watertown and Alexandria Bay, N.Y. and five family centers in the
area. A Physician's Referral Guide was produced and distributed to
more than 2,000 area healthcare providers and physicians in the
region, and the eight-page 1993 Annual Report to the Community, by the
Watertown Daily Times, was distributed to 45,000 Sunday subscribers.
Samaritan started producing quarterly issues of Health Matters, a
newsletter mailed to 54,000 community residents. Included were
letters from Samaritan's senior management, Centers of Excellence
success stories and general health tips. The new bi-weekly newsletter
Changing Times, focused on internal communications. To enforce
Samaritan's branding and logo, a series of TV commercials were
created, each of the four ads focusing on an area of excellence.
Did It Work?
Gleason says that the toughest part of the program so far has
been "coming up with a strategy that would overcome all the serious
issues and feelings, negative press and attentionthat had
significantly damaged our image."
Physician recruitment goals for 1995 exceeded expectations, with
the addition of more specialty doctors like cardiologists, internists,
and plastic surgeons. Everyone involved in the new "Samaritan Health
System" enthusiastically adopted the name and logo, and local
newspapers changed their coverage of the hospital from critical to
supportive.
The Centers of Excellence all experienced newfound popularity and
demand, with the cancer treatment and sports medicine centers getting
more referrals, the latter increasing by 52 percent. The sports
center's demand is so high that it's being moved to a larger facility,
said hospital officials.
A consumer survey published in January 1995 in Health Matters
shows that more than 90 percent of the 825 responses were positive
about Samaritan in general and 96 percent read the newsletter
regularly. Media coverage included stories in trade publication
Profiles in Healthcare Marketing and AdAge's Business Marketing.
Bridgeman says that "Research and planning are the most critical
steps. A lot of people react to a situation instead of proactively
planning and actually taking a look ahead." Gleason recommends "open,
honest communication in any and every form." (Samaritan,
315/785-4504; Saatchi & Saatchi, 716/272-6100)
Successful Communications Initiatives
Communications initiatives that have proven successful so far:
-Establishing a common brand and logo throughout other facilities in
the system.
-Distributing and producing a Physician's Referral Guide to over 2,000
area physicians and healthcare organizations.
-Printing and distributing the eight-page 1993 Annual Report To The
Community, by the Watertown Daily Times to 45,000 Sunday subscribers.
-Producing and distributing quarterly issues of newsletter Health
Matters to 54,000 area residents.
-Producing a bi-weekly newsletter Changing Times to enhance internal
communications.