Last year, St. Peter's Medical Center in New Brunswick, N.J., started negotiating with Homecare to expand its existing presence into the home healthcare industry. Its entree into the market had been through homecare nursing services and they were ready to take it to the next level, according to John Grangeia, St. Peter's VP of professional services.
Introduced to Homecare's franchise opportunities through Ernst & Young, its accounting firm, the hospital visited one of Homecare's facilities and became intrigued by the continuum of care possibilities for St. Peter's. "Homecare seemed to fill a void for patient discharges. The discharge process is fraught with anxiety, and no other place provides [healthcare] supplies, professional expertise and counsel to augment this process."
Ultimately, St. Peter's was sold on Homecare's ability to expand its perinatal services. As the largest OB/Gyn provider in the tri-state area, having a Homecare presence would beef up St. Peter's marketing edge as the leading perinatal provider in the market. Other services its Homecare facility will focus on will be Diabetes and elder care, according to Eileen Lawton, St., Peter's VP of community relations.
St. Peter's 5,000 square-foot Homecare facility will offer 3,000 products and will be located two miles from the hospital. The store's opening is slated for early 1998.
Lawton became involved once specific service areas were targeted. She and two others in her department are hashing out budgetary parameters and marketing strategy.
But she knows an effort like Homecare will require significant support. "Retail marketing is new to the hospital industry. As marketers we have to walk a fine line between being a provider and a shop. We're not opening a McDonald's for healthcare," said Lawton.
To get St. Peter's started, Homecare has several ready-to-use marketing tools that Lawton can choose from, including print ads, patient promotional materials and premium items. (Homecare, 516/454-6664;St. Peter's Medical Center, 908/745-8528)