Viewpoint: Strategies for Success

Mid-Year Perspective from the SHSMD President

By The SHSMD Team posted 9 days ago
Written by: David C. Grandy FACHE, SHSMD Advisory Board President and Head of Product, Risant Health Earlier this year, I shared my personal approach to setting intentions—prioritizing what matters and how I aspire to lead through complexity. That same discipline shapes how the SHSMD Advisory Board determines where to focus, especially at inflection points in health care. Guided by our three-year strategic plan, SHSMD continues to deliver relevant, high-value content for our members—from podcasts and webinars to self-paced courses and toolkits. If you haven’t already, take advantage of the most accessed resources from this past quarter —each one ...
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3 Strategic Workforce Planning Moves to Make Now

By The SHSMD Team posted 17 days ago
A confluence of factors has complicated the health care workforce picture. The field’s workforce is aging, patient demand for services is rising and so is the need for more nurses and physicians. Add in the high levels of stress and burnout many clinicians report feeling and the financial pressures many providers face, and some experts believe it’s time to take a fresh look at strategic workforce planning. Count Kunal Khashu, a digital transformation leader at HCA Healthcare, among them. When hospitals and health systems combine predictive analytics, decision-support systems and automation, they can optimize staffing, cut costs and improve outcomes, Khashu ...
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Ensuring Service Line Readiness: Key Questions Before You Market

By The SHSMD Team posted 06-16-2025
Written by: Kelly Frazer Johnson, Healthcare Marketing Strategic Advisor, Crystal Lake Marketing & Coaching If you’re like most healthcare marketing professionals, you’re juggling requests from multiple service lines, each eager for marketing resources. The challenge is prioritizing those service lines that have the capacity and operational readiness to drive revenue. To help, I’ve developed a questionnaire for service line leaders to complete before meeting with marketing. It encourages them to assess their business from every angle and confirms they’re ready to market. Marketing a service line that isn’t operationally prepared can backfire, ...
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Rural Marketing Channels

By The SHSMD Team posted 06-03-2025
Written by: Mark Crow, President, Tenth Crow Creative Which Marketing Channels are Best for Your Rural Health Care or Community-Based Organization? If you’re like most marketers working in the health care field, you probably come from a marcomm background, and don’t have a med school or a social work degree. And if you’re working for a rural organization, you may not hail from the area you’re serving. That’s common, too. But for marketing leaders, it’s important to know that rural and urban health care systems can be quite different — not as much in what they offer, but to whom. Take our home ...
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4 Critical Steps to Scale Generative AI

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-13-2025
As health care organizations grapple with rising operational costs, an aging population and a worsening workforce crisis, the need for transformative solutions has never been greater. A new Accenture report, “Gen AI Amplified: Scaling productivity for health care providers,” highlights how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can offer a critical path forward — unlocking unprecedented productivity gains, enhancing patient care and reshaping the future of care delivery. Health Care’s Inflection Point Health care providers face a historic staffing shortage: By 2033, the U.S. is projected to lack as many as 139,000 physicians while the global nursing ...
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5 Smart Strategies for Managing Health Care Marketing Priorities

By The SHSMD Team posted 04-15-2025
Written by: Mark Crow, President, Tenth Crow Creative The leader of the cardiology practice wants additional social media messaging for American Heart Month in February. Then the head of orthopedics drops by your office to chat about her idea for a campaign to spotlight a new surgeon. No matter the size of your health care organization, you probably field a constant stream of one-off requests that fall outside your thoughtfully crafted marketing plans. Marketing folks in health care are often pulled in different directions, and sometimes those demands conflict (Ortho and surgery want more attention, but it’s primary care that really ...
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The Secret To Creating Campaigns That Win Trust And Improve Outcomes

By The SHSMD Team posted 04-08-2025
Written by: Beth Gromada Scott, Director, Marketing & Sales, Institute for Healthcare Advancement, Anaheim, CA Last year, I experienced severe chest pain while vacationing abroad. The pain was scary, as were the linguistic challenges and financial options at the hospital. After the busy central city ER doctor rushed my tests and quickly gave me the non-life-threatening results, I was told to leave. However, I needed clarification about the test results, so I asked to talk with an interpreter. I also spoke with a financial representative to settle my insurance, and a pharmacist about the prescribed medications. Only then did I feel comfortable ...
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How To Leverage Data To Build Lasting Patient and Health care Consumer Relationships

By The SHSMD Team posted 02-04-2025
Written By: Erin Killion, Director of Client Strategy, Healthcare and Jennifer Dixon, Senior Director, Client Experience, Healthcare at GRADIANT , a Goodway Group Division In today’s health care landscape, data-driven insights are not only a competitive edge but a necessity for organizations aiming to meet patient expectations and improve health outcomes. By leveraging data strategically, health care providers can enhance patient experiences, foster loyalty, and optimize operations. Here’s how data can drive patient engagement and transform health care marketing strategies to align with evolving digital preferences. The ...
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10 Imperatives for Health System Pollution Reduction

By The SHSMD Team posted 01-07-2025
Written by: Andy Draper, CEO, founder, Sion60 Summary : The Pope, The Joint Commission, bond markets, state and local governments are encouraging health systems to have a sustainability strategy that reduces carbon emissions to protect our communities and planet. In health systems, a comprehensive strategy crosses multiple departments including facilities, OR, ICU, finance, investments, HR, physicians, supply chain, vehicles, even quality leaders. This complexity requires strategy leaders to lean in and build thoughtful plans based on data - just like we do with strategic planning, growth and service lines plans. Based on our discussions with hundreds ...
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Strength in Numbers: Building Connections Through the Small or Rural Organizations Meetup

By The SHSMD Team posted 12-10-2024
Written by: Tenth Crow Creative The first Small or Rural Organizations member meetup, sponsored by healthcare brand marketing agency Tenth Crow Creative, offered a dynamic and insightful platform for helping to tackle the unique challenges faced by small and rural healthcare organizations. While these organizations are often the lifeline of their communities, they grapple with barriers such as limited resources, workforce shortages, and geographical isolation. The meetup provided an invaluable opportunity to share experiences and insights, discuss common challenges, and explore collaborative strategies. Whether you attended the meetup ...
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How Healthcare Marketers Can Balance Privacy Regulations and Personalization

By The SHSMD Team posted 12-03-2024
Written By: Erin Killion, Director, Client Strategy - Healthcare, Goodway Group As healthcare marketing continues to evolve, balancing consumer privacy with the need for personalization remains a challenge. With increasing regulations such as the FTC’s Health Breach Data Notification Rule and stricter state privacy laws, healthcare marketers are facing more pressure than ever to stay compliant while still delivering personalized experiences. This shift has forced marketers to rethink their strategies. In this article, we’ll explore innovative approaches to healthcare marketing that keep consumer privacy legislation in mind. Let’s dive in. ...
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Getting the most out of your SHSMD Connections experience

By The SHSMD Team posted 09-25-2024
Written by: Alan Shoebridge, SHSMD Immediate Past President Associate Vice President, National Communications, Providence, Portland, OR I've had Oct. 13 marked on my calendar for months, and now the SHSMD Connections conference is almost here. I can’t wait. While many people enjoy going to conferences, others are skeptical of their worth. I count myself as an optimist on the value of leaving your bubble and attending events like the SHSMD Connections conference. Here are my top five reasons why attending a conference is so valuable: Meeting new people Re-engaging with your connections Team building ...
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Patient-First Design: From a Designer’s Point of View

By The SHSMD Team posted 09-18-2024
Health care experiences are distinct because they combine deeply personal and sensitive relationships with commercial transactions. Unlike services like barber appointments or Uber rides, which people judge mainly on immediate service quality, health care requires a more intricate balance of personal care and a uniquely personalized experience. This complexity reflects the deeper, more individualized nature of health care interactions. Patients often assess their quality of care based on their relationship with their doctor and the ease of obtaining that care – not to mention the results achieved. The digital tools available to a patient play an increasingly ...
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Developing Engaging and Effective Social Media in an Era of Mistrust

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-27-2024
Written by: Mia Von Sadovszky, SVP / Group Strategic Planning Director and Hanna Samad, VP / Experience Strategy Director at Independent Advertising Agency, RPA Social media has emerged as a powerful marketing tool for health care institutions, with 41% of people surveyed say social media affects their choice of doctor, hospital, or medical facility. Unfortunately, the prevalence of misinformation and polarization found in social media discussions around health and health care has affected overall trust in these very institutions and their experts. So how can health care marketers best leverage social media to drive positive patient engagement ...
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#Let'sGetSocial: What is the Risk of Social?

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-20-2024
Social media has a ubiquitous influence in nearly all industries, including health care. With the near instant ability to connect with others, patients can provide their prospective in real time during the height of their reactionary emotional period of situations. The management of these reactions may feel like it’s all on the shoulders of the marketing and public relations departments. But in truth, it is essential to bring in your facilities risk management professionals into the conversation for support. It is not uncommon to experience many challenges regarding the identification, management, and mitigation of risky situations on social media. But there ...
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UX & WCAG Accessibility Strategies: Key Takeaways from SHSMD’s Member Meet-up

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-06-2024
Written by: Janna Fiester, VP of UX & Creative, Sandstorm and Amanda Heberg, VP of Business Development, Sandstorm In a recent member meet-up, Mark Moen, CIO of the American Society of Clinical Pathology, alongside two experts from Sandstorm®, Janna Fiester, VP of UX & Creative, and Amanda Heberg, VP of Business Development, presented an insightful and hands-on webinar focusing on the critical aspects of User Experience (UX) and website accessibility (WCAG). For those who couldn't join, here’s a recap of the key highlights from the discussion: Does Accessibility Have a Real-World Impact? Accessibility is not just about compliance; ...
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DEIB Challenges and Opportunities for Small & Rural Hospitals

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-30-2024
Insights from SHSMD’s Member Meet-Up Contributed by: SHSMD Advisory Board Members Julia Yoder (she/her), Marketing & PR Director, Brookings Health System, and Terri Flood (she/her), Vice President of Business Development at Wayne HealthCare Starting the Conversation We had the pleasure of facilitating this Member Meet-Up in April to discuss what challenges exist in small and rural health care organizations to implement diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives . We were joined by other SHSMD members from small and rural facilities and those allied ...
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The Missing Elements in Health Systems' Digital Front Door Strategies

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-16-2024
Written by: Aasim Saeed , Founder and CEO, Amenities In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, selecting the optimal digital front door solution has become a critical task for health system CIOs, innovation leaders, and marketing executives. The plethora of options available often leads to decision paralysis, costly DIY efforts, or the adoption of ineffective solutions. This blog aims to provide actionable insights on how to navigate this complex decision-making process, focusing on tips, best practices, and case studies while highlighting common pitfalls to avoid. Understanding Consumer Frustrations One of the primary ...
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How AdventHealth for Children Created a Mental Health Movement

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-20-2024
Written by: Jaeann Ashton , Marketing Director | AdventHealth | Orlando, FL What if one conversation can change, or even save, a life? That was the question AdventHealth for Children sought to answer last May, as the health system launched a movement that gets kids and parents talking about mental health. Hospitals are in a unique position to address the youth mental health crisis, and AdventHealth for Children has seen firsthand the alarming number of children struggling with anxiety, depression, and even self-harm and suicidal ideation. From 2018 through June 2020, at AdventHealth Orlando’s tri-county hospital system, 1,004 pediatric ...
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Instant Reaction: Walmart Health to Close Retail Health Locations

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-01-2024
Sometimes, industry news breaks that is both shocking and not surprising at the same time. That happened yesterday when Walmart Health announced a major change to its retail health strategy. Specifically, ending primary care services. Walmart will close all its health care clinics across the country. The change will impact 51 health centers across five states and shut down Walmart’s virtual care offering as well. The company will continue to operate nearly 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers. Along with Amazon Health, Walmart was one of the big, original “disruptive” forces to traditional health care. This decision obviously ...
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