PR executives at the Fairview Health System in Minneapolis succeeded in damage control this year with a comprehensive promotional campaign to counter-act the negative PR it received during its takeover of the University of Minnesota hospital.
Fairview, which has about 10,000 employees statewide, is in the process of a merger with the University Hospital which will be finalized as of Jan. 1, 1997. That process, however, has caused a stir among the hospital's union employees that has trickled into the local press.
With the merger, hospital workers will work under Fairview Health System, a for-profit system, which owns seven Minnesota hospitals, 27 clinics, 21 physical therapy clinics and 13 senior residence homes throughout the state.
While Fairview's merger is quite common in the industry (more than 60 hospitals have merged or affiliated this year), its policy on unions is causing a gamut of PR problems because Fairview officials refuse to recognize the university unions, which have represented university employees for nearly 25 years.
"All mergers are tough but this one was especially so because the union is so vocal," said Barbara Nye, vice president of marketing and public relations for Fairview. "We have had to go forward full force with our message so that people see the positive aspects of this merger."
For example the PR department has had to counteract a barrage of reports from some local reporters interviewing union workers unhappy with benefit cuts such as fewer holidays and pay reductions.
To counteract the negative feelings, Fairview PR officials created a new merger ad campaign and beefed up its internal communications with employees. Nye's PR department of 25 employees has been working diligently since January 1996 to dispel what it perceives as misinformation to University workers about the merger.
Pushing The Ad Campaign
To appease concerns about the merger, Nye's department last month ran a television advertisement in five Minnesota markets and was broadcast on CNN.
But reporters took pot shots at Fairview's merger advertisements created by the Lynch Jarvis Jones agency in Minneapolis that show busy hospital workers crossing paths and humming the University rouser chant.
The ad ends with the simple words, "The people of Fairview and the University of Minnesota will be teaming up to build a great new health network. It sounds like a great fit."
"Hospital workers will find themselves working for a new employer -without union protection," wrote Star Tribune reporter Doug Grow. "Not surprisingly, many of those workers don't feel at all like those Rouser-hummers in the television ad. Instead, they feel betrayed by the university.
After the Star Tribune article ran, Nye increased the ads circulation by including it in prime time slots.
Nye said that although the ad was criticized in the media, a majority of the local population felt positive about the merger, according to surveys conducted by the health system.
"With that ad, we created positive energy, introduced ourselves to greater Minnesota and inform the public about our network during open enrollment," said Nye. "The ad succeeded in its mission."
The merger ads are part of a larger advertising campaign that touts the Fairview Physician Associates, a group of 670 physicians and 125 clinics owned by Fairview.
Although the numbers from open enrollment are not yet available, Nye said enrollment in the program is already higher than the same time last year.
Internal Communications
Since the merger announcement, Nye's department has issuing a bi-weekly employee newsletter, the Preview; updated its Web site with an email address, and oversees a special phone line to address employee concerns about the merger.
Nye's department also works with the University Hospital PR department, which issues a monthly newsletter called Inside Extra. The two departments meet monthly to discuss communications issues.
While the PR departments have a long road ahead of them, Nye is confident that the merger will be less rocky in the future thanks to a combined communications efforts.
"We understand the concerns that people have during a merger," said Nye. "Its our job to communicate our message with them the best way we know how."
(Fairview Health System, 612/672-6300)
How Fairview Responded to Merger Opposition
1. Ran an upbeat television ad in five Minnesota markets
2. Sent out press releases weekly to local newspapers about news
on the merger
3. Published an internal bi-weekly employee newsletter about
merger issues
4. Started an internal employee Web site and email address
5. Opened a special employee hotline number during merger