VPMA Role in Community Outreach – Cheap Marketing
Stephen Feagins, MD, MBA, FACP
Vice President Medical Affairs
Mercy Health
• Greater Cincinnati’s largest integrated
healthcare services network with five
hospitals.
• For the past four years, 2,400 members
of the medical staff has received a
Medical Staff Update in their personal
email on Sunday evening.
• Readership has gradually expanded to
include regional, corporate, and
community stakeholders.
• Now includes all management in the
East Market who distribute to their staff
(2200 FTEs).
• Credentialed providers provide their
emails during appointment
The Greatest Opportunity
for the VPMA is
Communication
Easy to read. Three
sentences per topic.
Scheduled weekly, every
Sunday evening.
A little humor. A few
pictures from the iPhone.
A lot of clinical updates
Sneak in accreditation
required information
Optimize for reading on
smart phones
Find reasons to invite your community to
your facilities.
Social Media
Parking Lot Design Project: An encore class of 32 8th graders
divided into six teams to design and present their parking lot
design. Class supplemented by the architect, construction
manager, and VPMA. The winning team presented their design to
hospital leadership at a breakfast for them and their families.
Information Sources
Company emails
MedPage Today Morning Break
Modernhealthcare.com
Advisory Board Daily Briefing
Epocrates Notifications
Local Business Courier
This posting was
taken from a Medical
Staff Update article.
• If you want to see the future,
visit your local schools.
• If you want to influence the
future, partner with your local
schools.
• Partnership produces a return
on investment.
28 schools, 14,000 student athletes
100 injuries per school a year
90% get an X-ray
25% get an MRI
10% get a surgery
Don’t forget about rehab, physical therapy,
braces and medical equipment, and MORE
referrals from family
Four Components of Community Outreach
Three local media outlets covered the story and the follow-up
award ceremony. Sixteen finalists invited for “behind the
scenes surgery tours, complete with scrubs, IDs, and
demonstration (mannequin, not a human).
Make your business and medical reading
much more relevant – summarize for your
colleagues – THREE sentences.
“I don’t go to bed on Sunday until I’ve read the
Medical Staff Update”
Lee Megois, MD chief of staff
(and about another 1000 docs)
The Greatest Opportunity
for the health care system is
Community Outreach
Example: Sports Medicine
Return on Investment
Name the Robot Contest: Purchasing the 22nd daVinci robotic
system in Cincinnati is not news. A contest “naming the robot”
with 2200 students grades 4-6 from eight schools is news.
District and Mercy media covering assemblies.
Volume Becomes Value
Trust comes from familiarity.
Forest Hills District Partnership
Presenting their project and “breaking ground” with the President
and Chief of staff. Broadcast on the Evening News.
• Validity of email address tested weekly.
Enrollment requires more trust in the
“system” than intermittent care.
SFeagins@health-partners.org
Medical Staff Update
• Personal emails kept only by the VPMA
and medical staff office.
In the new world, we are looking for
enrollment more than inpatient volume.
Mercy Health East Market, Cincinnati, OH
Use Your Specialty
• Serve as a Team Physician
• Write for local newspaper
• Present at School Board or Chamber
• Exclusive partnerships with school
districts
• Professional service agreements and
physician contracts with specialty
partners
1. Sponsorship: Strategic use of marketing funds
based on overall plan.
2. Education: Get into the schools and community to
tell your story through lectures and presentations
3. Marketing: Negotiate exclusivity contracts with
school districts so that only your system markets.
4. Sports Medicine: Provide trainers and team
physicians in the school.