International marketing expands patient base
Latin America is the target of hospital’s effort
When a physician in Argentina was looking for a rehabilitation facility for his father who had suffered a stroke, he found Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Division of Rehabilitation on the Internet.
"He got in touch with me through the Web page. I was able to give him the information he needed, and he chose our rehab unit from several he was looking at," says Dharma R. Mirabent, MS, HA, PT, administrator of the division of rehabilitation.
Mount Sinai’s Web page is just one way the Miami facility markets services to patients in the Caribbean and Latin America, says Betty Nuñez, Hispanic affairs specialist. The medical center opened an International Services division two years ago to expand its base of international patients who came to Mount Sinai for services unavailable in their own countries.
Physician-to-physician links
In addition to its Web page, the hospital has appointed physician ambassadors to establish relationships with other physicians in target countries, offers toll-free access from other countries, provides specialty training or English-speaking physicians from Latin American countries, and hosts and participates in conferences for Latin American physicians.
"The best way to bring patients from Latin America is for our physicians to develop a relationship with Latin American physicians. When a patient gets sick, they go to their physician first. If they know how we work, they feel comfortable referring the patient here," Nuñez says.
There were 14 international rehabilitation admissions in 1996. Many of the other international patients, however, such as the 190 cardiology patients, also received rehab services, she adds.
The hospital offers a package price to international patients, many of whom pay cash. The package price includes all hospital services, physician charges, and the cost of equipment such as wheelchairs and ambulatory devices, Mirabent says.
When the rehab staff get an international referral, they anticipate all the services the patient will need, based on the diagnosis, and come up with an individual package. In addition, the hospital’s international concierge service will arrange for air or land ambulance, transportation to and from Miami International Airport, hotel accommodations for patients or family members, rental cars, and other needs.
All of the rehab staff is bilingual; some speak many languages. Staff in the hospital are fluent in 23 different languages, Nuñez says.
"Since our staff is all international, it’s fairly easy to have teams assigned depending on the language," Mirabent says.
"We have a Spanish speaking therapist, but we also have people on staff from Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba who can act as a patient liaison and relate to the patient in a different way because they understand the patient’s culture," Mirabent adds.
The hospital has recruited therapists from other countries and sees a lot of interest in the services Mount Sinai provided when hospital recruiters visit, she says. "Since our staff are from different countries, we know what is available here in the United States vs. what is available in our countries. A lot of what we do here is advanced."
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