Whether you work for a small or large healthcare organization, community benefits reporting can be a challenging task. With so much to consider including what to report, how to gather information and then how to translate that information into reader-friendly prose; the process deserves further examination. Manager of Internal Communications for Providence Health & Services in Oregon, Louise Hoy, shed some light on how her organization goes about sharing its many benefits with the communities they serve.

Providence's community benefits reporting centers around stories - real stories of real people who have experienced the good of both giving and receiving. “Providence thinks it is really important for hospitals to tell their stories in as many ways as possible. Hospitals give significant benefits to their communities. Telling that story is very effective, especially online,” said Hoy, as 2009 was the first year Providence created an entire website specifically to house their community benefits report. For this organization, community benefits planning always centers around their mission.

Deciding how financial and service contributions are to be directed is based on results of their Community Assets & Needs Assessment (CANA), which is conducted every three years and consists of research, meetings, interviews, focus groups, and surveys. For reporting, the organization closely follows Catholic Health Association (CHA) guidelines for community benefit reporting, and state and federal government requirements.

The body of the report centers around illustrating how Providence has fulfilled its mission by dividing contributions into five categories: free and reduced-cost medical care; health services for under-served patients; Oregon Health Plan and other government-sponsored medical care; medical education and research; and community health, grants and donations. With the help of the Providence public affairs team, and its mission and spiritual care leaders, every September Hoy begins collecting and tracking real-life stories of beneficiaries.

Content cultivated, it's time then to decide how to communicate the information. For 2009, Hoy worked with a team of talented in-house creative and technical resources to produce the entire community benefits report online, including video and audio elements. The result, www.providence.org/cares, is a permanent site devoted to the organization's community benefits. A link to the report was then e-mailed by Providence's chief executive to the organization's 17,000 employees, as well as to affiliated physicians, donors, Providence community boards, and to a host of community contacts. Providence also tweeted (http://twitter.com/provhealth) about their 2009 report and included it on their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/providenceoregon). A summary of the report was used in community outreach, designed to drive readers to the complete online version.

For those considering launching a community benefits report website in tandem with a hard copy brochure, Hoy advises, “Allow more time than you think you are going to need to get it all done. It's a wonderful process and we're so pleased with the result, but it does take a lot of time and effort.”

HCO Happenings
Experience

One word is worth 1,000 pictures! The HCO is excited to present another educational opportunity via the Web. Join Say Awe! Editor and Owner of Write On, Inc., Dana Lord for “Write on Target, Every Time,” a copywriting Webinar. Whether you are a novice at writing or have been crafting copy for years, you're sure to benefit from Lord's strategies for building better messages. The Webinar will be held September 10 at 1 p.m. Look for registration details in the August issue of Say Awe!.
Experience excellence in communication! The OCIABC's annual Bronze Beacon Awards program will be held September 15 from 6 – 8 p.m. (location TBD). In addition to honoring local communications professionals for outstanding work, the festivities will feature Keynote Speaker, John Anthony Hartman, president of Feedia - a social media consulting firm helping companies develop strategies in new media. For more information, visit http://or.iabc.com/programs/ and check back in the August issue of Say Awe!.
For more information, e-mail us at info@HCOregon.org.

HealthCare Reform Opposed by a Majority of Decision-Makers in Oregon
By Tom Eiland/June 28, 2010
The debate about healthcare reform has calmed, but decision-makers in Oregon say reform will have a negative impact on the country, on their company or organization, and on the cost and quality of healthcare.

These are key findings in a recent CFM/Oregon Business INPUT survey among 923 decision-makers.

Healthcare reform was unpopular among Oregon business decision-makers who opposed the reform plan by nearly a two-to-one margin, 31 percent favor to 57 percent opposed.

Opposition was based on several factors.

It was widely perceived national healthcare reform was poor public policy.
• 56 percent were convinced healthcare reform will be bad for the country; and
• More specifically, 48 percent say reform will be bad for their company or organization.

There also were concerns about what impact reform would have on the quality and cost of healthcare.
• 63 percent say the cost of healthcare will increase; and
• 52 percent say the quality of healthcare will decline, as a result of reform.

Healthcare reform is now the law. Starting now and through 2018, various features of the legislation will go into effect.

Apparently, supporters of the reform have their work cut out to convince decision-makers in Oregon that healthcare reform will provide benefits in the long term.

The online survey was conducted in April 2010 among 923 Oregon Business magazine subscribers.

Healthcare Marcom Checkup
Want to activate activism in the social media generation? Discover how to inspire an entire generation to get behind your cause with these insightful tips from Ad Age Daily News: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144686

Got news? Please send press releases to danalord@writeoninc.com.

Job Openings
To view the description for the following job, go to the HCO website: hcoregon.org.

Physician Liaison, PeaceHealth Oregon Region

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Healthcare Communicators of Oregon Membership
Join HCO and take advantage of professional development opportunities including seminars and meetings designed to keep healthcare communications professionals up-to-date on strategies, tactics and trends. Innovate with us! Become a member today by downloading a membership form from our website: HCOregon.org.

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Say Awe! is a publication of the Healthcare Communicators of Oregon. Please send comments or questions to the Editor, Dana Lord at: danalord@writeoninc.com.

2010 HCO Fall Conference

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