Be sensitive to 'personality' of community in marketing
Auctions, handouts, staff guide effective promotion
Although fundraising efforts are an important part of any hospice organization's financial stability, the staff at Community Health Professionals in Van Wert, OH, saw the census double during the community capital campaign.
The reason for the increase in patients was the approach that Donna Grimm, RN, MS, CHCE, past president and consultant to the agency, took for her presentations.
"I asked to meet with groups of employees, not just the executives of the company," she explains. "Although the employee meetings did not necessarily increase the amount of money the company donated, they were an important educational and marketing tool for the hospice."
Community education is the best type of marketing for any hospice, and Grimm believes that every employee of the hospice should be reminded that they are responsible for marketing. "We make sure that employees know about all of the services the agency offers, and all employees who visit patients in their homes carry fliers with information about the different services," she says.
Staff can advise on services
By reminding employees to learn about the entire range of services offered by the agency rather than focusing on their one job, all staff members can suggest other services if they notice that the family or patient might need extra help, she points out.
You also need to remind employees that even if they are not actively promoting or talking about the agency, they are representatives at all times, says Grimm. "At one time, we had very nice jackets with the agency logo and name for all employees to wear," she says. "We had one instance of an employee who wore the jacket to a bar when she went to meet friends." Following this incident, employees were reminded to wear clothing with the agency logo during workdays, not personal time.
Special events build relationships
Because about 50% of Community Health Professionals' clients come from self-referrals from the community, building a relationship with community members through special events is important to the agency, says Grimm. "We hit different segments of the public with different events," she says. Her agency's fundraising efforts include a golf tournament and a motorcycle ride that raises money with entry fees and pledges, Grimm says. "We also have a booth at the county fair where we hold a garage sale," she says.
Her "garage sale" includes five cars donated by local car dealers, with two of the cars to be given away in a raffle and three to be sold, with the profits to be split between the dealer and the hospice. "Our community members know who we are because we are at the same area events that they attend," she adds.
VNA distributes passport as PR tool
The management staff at The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Texas in Dallas found another way to connect with the community and differentiate themselves from other hospices.
"We have newsletters, falls and home safety brochures, and thank you notes that we give to community members, but every agency has those," says Robert P. Carpenter MBA, CPA, MCSE, CHCE, CEO. "We were looking for a way to give something back to the community that would be useful," he explains.
As staff members discussed different ideas, the suggestion was made that something be created that could help people with their personal emergency preparedness plan. All of the patients have a basket of medicines they can pick up and take with them, as well as emergency contact numbers, Carpenter says. "What they don't have, in many cases, is a complete list of medication or a description of their medical history," he says. "We have the patient's electronic medical record, but that doesn't help the patient's adult children or an emergency medical technician."
A document that contains information such as medications, allergies, contact names and numbers, physician information, and other items that would be helpful in an emergency was developed. Because staff members wanted it to stand out from other handouts, they designed it as a passport and created the "Passport to Healthcare" to play on the theme that health care is a journey, says Carpenter.
Work with police, fire departments
To make sure that the passport would be helpful to EMTs, Carpenter asked the police and fire departments to review and make suggestions. "They asked us to put medical and allergy information at the front of the document so they would not have to flip through it," he says. Then, to make sure that police, fire, and emergency personnel knew about the passport and to look for it, Carpenter's agency gave one of the tear-resistant, pocket-sized passports in a waterproof sleeve to all people in those departments.
"Passports are given to all new admissions to our hospice, home health, and Meals On Wheels programs, donors who give more than $100, and to family members if they ask for one," says Carpenter. A total of 30,000 passports have been distributed, he says. The passports cost about $2 each, including the waterproof sleeve, but Carpenter points out that local grants and donations have been obtained for printing them.
Nurses follow up with patients periodically to see if they've updated the information, says Carpenter. "There is some initial reluctance to fill in the information because the entire document is 14 pages, but nurses tell patients to fill in one page at a time," he says. "Whenever there is a change in medication, nurses will remind patients to update their passport."
Know your audience
Whatever method you choose to market your hospice, be sure to tailor your message to your audience, points out Grimm.
"We serve 15 counties in northwest Ohio with nine offices, so we have a wide range of communities," she says. "One county's population is predominately Mennonite with quiet, reserved people, so we talk at churches."
Another county is less conservative, so splashy car shows and booths at county fairs are appropriate for them, Grimm adds. "Each county has its own personality, so make sure you know your audience," she says.
When planning your marketing and public relations activities, remember that hospice is an emotional issue, so you do need to personalize it, says Grimm. "If we use print media, we always include a photo and story about a client so readers can see that hospice is a human interest story," she says.
Let people know that you're seeking volunteer or financial support to help people, not a company bottom line, she adds. "Focus on how you've helped a family, not just a list of services," she says.
Remember, too, that there are many ages that you need to target for hospice or home health care, says Grimm. "Our target market is not just the elderly, but it is also their adult children who may be making health care decisions for them or helping them make their decisions," she explains. "People who are ages 50 to 60 years old are a powerful group for hospice organizations."
Need More Information?
For more information about marketing and public relations for hospice, contact:
- Robert P. Carpenter, MBA, CPA, MCSE, CHCE, Chief Executive Officer, The Visiting Nurse Association of Texas, 1600 Viceroy Drive, Dallas, TX 75235. Telephone: (214) 689-2308. Fax: (214) 689-2300. E-mail: [email protected].
- Donna Grimm, RN, MS, CHCE, Past President and Consultant, Community Health Professionals, 1159 Westwood Drive, Van Wert, OH 45891. Telephone: (419) 238-9223. E-mail: [email protected].
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content