Strategic Plan forHospital de Diagnóstico

Background: This strategic plan was created by Alina Avalos, Chip Lowe, Purvi Pandit and Taylor Ullman on behalf of Hospital de Diagnóstico. The plan was developed over the course of the Fall 2014 semester as part of the public relations strategy (PUR3801) class. Supervisors of the project were Dr. Juan-Carlos Molleda (Instructor) and Jasper Fessmann (Teaching Assistant).

Theme: “The most economical choice, serving as a first-class hospital at the Pacific Coast of Central America.”

The campaign: The Hospital de Diagnóstico wants to be known for its advanced medical technology and for its affordability and viability as a medical tourism in relation to the costs of procedures in the U.S. The hospital has invested its resources in developing a state-of-the-art campus and rolling out cutting-edge medical technology. Our theme encompasses these contemporary, forward-thinking initiatives the hospital has already launched. Our plan aims to inform people living in the United States about the benefits of medical tourism at the Hospital de Diagnóstico. The overall goal of our plan is to increase attention and education of medical tourism and increase the number of patients receiving medical services at the hospital and its partner campuses. We targeted Hispanics, particularly the Salvadoran diasporas, living in the United States. Salvadorans are the third largest U.S. Hispanic group, and many are first-generation immigrants or the children of first-generation parents, which increases their desire and willingness to return home for medical procedures.

Strategic Goals 1. To increase understanding of Hospital de Diagnóstico that results in an increase in

medical tourism.2. Enhance the hospital’s reputation so that publics will understand it is a first-class hospital

at the heart of Central America, at the Pacific coast of the region, a reputational goal, and in doing so, generate a referral system, a task goal.

Key Messages:

Safety, comfort, and health matter most.Although the Hospital de Diagnóstico is located in a developing country, the hospital is a first-world hospital and a world-class institution with cutting-edge technology and equipment. The hospital implemented the first center for radiosurgery in Central America, and its infini machine can focus on specific parts of the brain to treat tumors and malformations.

We give patients personalized attention and first-class quality treatment.Secondary research verifies that the traditional family in El Salvador, as in Latin America generally, is large and close-knit. The hospital is structurally large, but the prestigious staff is committed to treating patients like they are at home.

We strive to be a green hospital.Environmental care is one of our strategic priorities, including the proper management of medical waste and expired drugs, radiation protection, and saving energy and water.

Medical tourism gives patients a better option.Hospital de Diagnóstico provides medical services of the same value as hospitals in developed countries. However, the medical services are significantly cheaper and located in the beautiful and welcoming country of El Salvador, which is at the heart of the Pacific coast of Central America._____________________________________________________________________________

Goal 1: To increase understanding of Hospital de Diagnóstico that results in an increase in medical tourism.

● Objective 1: To have an effect on the attention of Salvadorans living in the United States, specifically to increase their understanding of the advantages of medical tourism that Hospital de Diagnóstico offers. (Increase awareness to over 10,000 Salvadorans in the targeted cities that have high concentrations of Salvadoran-Americans by the end of the implementation of this plan).

○ Strategy 1: Inform our target audience of Salvadorans living in the United States about the affordability of the hospital’s services by engaging them in face-to-face interaction.

■ Rationale: There are two million Hispanics of Salvadoran origin living in the United States, which is the third largest U.S, Hispanic group. Six-in-10 Salvadorans are foreign-born, or immigrated directly from their home country, which indicates they are willing to return home for medical procedures. Face-to-face interactions will be most beneficial in California, Virginia, and Texas at local events and philanthropic organizations, because 40 percent of Salvadorans live on the West Coast, with about 90 percent of those residing in these specific cities or towns. According to Brown and Patten (2013), about four-in-ten Salvadorans (39%) do not have health insurance compared with 30 percent of all Hispanics and 15 percent of the general U.S. population. Also, 15 percent of Salvadorans younger than 18 years old are uninsured.

■ Tactic 1.1: Set up booths that allow face-to-face communication and promotion of Hospital de Diagnóstico at festivals and events that are heavily populated with Hispanic Americans, specifically Salvadorans. Events we will focus on are those like Feria Chapina in Los Angeles, California.

■ Tactic 1.2: In New York there is a festival that celebrates the Salvadoran-American heritage. In 2014, it was held on August 14. We would encourage participating in festivals such as Festival del Salvadoreño Americano to engage and communicate the campaign message with the target audience.

■ Tactic 1.3: Participate in educational and political gatherings such as Salvadoran consulates located throughout the United States in Washington, New York, Miami and California. Establish a connection within the consulates so that Hospital de Diagnóstico can be promoted among prestigious groups and individuals.

○ Evaluation: After each community event, hospital staff participating in the event should submit an evaluation of the event, the booth or involvement performance and general feedback they heard or perceived from those in attendance at the event. These evaluations will be compiled and analyzed at the end of the campaign to measure the overall effectiveness of the face-to-face strategy and tactics.

● Objective 2: (an output objective): Collaborate with U.S. entities to partner and

disseminate pertinent information to increase knowledge among Salvadoran-Americans and Hispanic Americans by 10% (Develop a baseline prior to implementing the plan and then measure the increase).

○ Strategy 2: Establish strategic partnerships with travel agencies, health organizations and Roman Catholic churches to disseminate information.

■ Rationale: Secondary research revealed our target audience would be more likely to trust healthcare institutions that are recommended or supported by reputable businesses and organizations. Most Salvadorans are members of the Roman Catholic Church, so reaching out to Roman Catholic churches in our target geographical areas to disseminate information about the hospital will be a key avenue in reaching our primary audience of Salvadorans living in the United States. The American Cancer Society is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. It runs public health advertising campaigns, and organizes projects such as the Relay for Life. The focus according to the organization’s mission is “To save lives by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures, and fighting back.” A relationship with this organization

would help promote the interests of both the American Cancer Society as well as Hospital de Diagnóstico.

■ Tactic 2.1: Develop relationship with American Cancer Society and encourage them to provide opportunities for members to receive information about the hospital.

■ Tactic 2.2: Collaborate with Salvadoran doctors in the U.S. to inform patients about medical tourism and the hospital’s technology.

■ Tactic 2.3: Collaborate with Roman Catholic churches in California, Virginia, and Texas to disseminate print materials with information about the hospital such as brochures.

● Objective 3: To obtain 1,000 unique web hits and an additional 1,000 unique hits to social media platforms after 6 months.

○ Strategy 3: Maintain Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, website, and blog to provide additional information about the hospital, and link each social media channel back to the official website.

■ Rationale: Social media are vital communication channels for any organization, including hospitals, to connect with their customers, clients and patients internationally, yet few healthcare organizations are utilizing the two-way conversations that social media inherently cultivate. The amount and quality of social media and web-based output need to be increased in order to reach potential patients. Digital communication is a cost-effective way to reach large audiences anywhere in the world. Messaging on social media platforms can promote the reputation of the hospital as a first-world facility. Approximately 60 percent of Internet users report using the Internet to look for health information, according to Thackeray, Crookston and West (2013). The digital marketing strategy includes informing and reassuring potential patients that it is the hospital’s mission to provide the best specialists, the most advanced technology and give patients personalized attention. Sharing visual content of the doctors, machinery and video tours of the facilities and testimonials will effectively push the hospital’s key messages across all of the chosen social media platforms. Twitter’s brevity is a strength to allow the Salvadoran people to communicate with each other as well as with the hospital.

■ Tactic 3.1: Maintain the hospital’s YouTube channel with videos of the hospital’s solar panels, lights, and other economically-efficient daily activities to reinforce the hospital’s dedication to being environmentally conscious and technologically advanced. Posting engaging content, such as videos that encourage responses, will be

a key method is building engaging content, rather than one-way communications.

■ Tactic 3.2: Regularly update the Twitter account with tweets and links to articles about Salvadoran culture, the natural environment, and health. We also recommend responding to “ats” (@s), or incoming messages, as a way to encourage and build on the natural interest international Twitter uses will have in the hospital.

■ Tactic 3.3: Regularly update the blog with posts about the hospital’s facilities, interviews with doctors, patient stories, and insight from the hospital’s employees to allow potential patients to experience the hospital’s culture. Allowing monitored blog comments will also be a method to gain user and content feedback to improve the blog and ensure that we are reaching the appropriate and intended publics.

■ Tactic 3.4: Provide direct links to all social media channels on the hospital’s website to drive more website traffic.

● Objective 4: To utilize the digital media strategy developed in this plan to generate future customer leads, or requests for information, amongst Salvadoran U.S. residents. (100 phone calls 500 online chat requests by the end of the implementation of the plan).

○ Strategy 4: Use social media and the website to generate leads for potential patients/clients requesting more information about medical tourism and the hospital’s offerings.

■ Tactic 4.1: Update the website to include messages and methods of contact, such as online chats and a toll-free phone number, to drive Salvadoran U.S. residents to request additional information about the hospital.

■ Tactic 4.2: Capture each lead, or request for additional info, and compile those leads into a contact list.

■ Tactic 4.3: Follow up on the contact list by individual callbacks and email newsletters or updates.

Goal 2: Enhance the hospital’s reputation so that publics will understand it is a first-class hospital at the heart of Central America, at the Pacific coast of the region, a reputational goal, and in doing so, generate a referral system, a task goal.

● Objective 1: Increase the perception of Hispanics in the United States that the hospital is safe, regardless of El Salvador’s developing world reputation. (Conduct a survey prior to

implementing the plan to develop a baseline and then a post-plan survey, seeking a 10% increase by the end of the implementation.)

○ Rationale: One of the impediments hindering Hospital de Diagnóstico’s ability to recruit many patients from the United States is the perception of El Salvador as an unsafe country. A civil war that ended in 1992 lasted for 12 years and left a damaging impact on the country’s reputation. The war left a broken infrastructure, and when the United States went to investigate six high-profile murders, there had to be an international process to end the war (“El Salvador: Civil War,” (n.d.).

■ Strategy 1: Promote Hospital de Diagnóstico in a way that emphasizes the importance of safety and prime location.

■ Tactic 1.1: Through the use of social media, post pictures and videos that display Hospital de Diagnóstico to be the safe and clean hospital that it is.

■ Tactic 1.2: Attain quotes from credible people, including Salvadoran and American doctors in the U.S., medical professionals and prominent Hispanic-American celebrities or community leaders, if possible, and related organizations, to reassure patients that they will receive the proper and safe care they would expect in a “first-world” hospital.

■ Tactic 1.3: Post a video testimonial on the website from a patient who has changed his or her views after being treated at Hospital de Diagnóstico.

● Objective 2: Develop a survey for patients to evaluate their experience at Hospital de Diagnóstico and establish a system in which those surveys can be used as a reference to establish credibility. (Get 65% of patients to complete surveys after their treatments).

○ Strategy 1: Use feedback from the surveys to attract potential patients reinforce the high-quality status of the hospital and its medical treatments.

■ Tactic 1.1: Create a weekly newsletter for the hospital that contains a section displaying people’s satisfaction.

■ Tactic 1.2: Use quotes from the survey to post on social media and the website.

■ Tactic 1.3: Utilize contact information collected in the survey to request follow up interviews from patients and capture their testimonials on video to post on the YouTube channel.

Evaluation: Provide every client with a survey when they check out from the hospital. Patients will be able to complete the forms and return them prior to leaving the hospital or mail them back. If inclined, the hospital could assign electronic codes to each paper form so that they could be completed and submitted online.

● Objective 3: Showcase Hospital de Diagnóstico’s technological advancements through digital media to enhance the perception of its first-class status to Salvadorans, Salvadoran-Americans and Hispanic Americans. (Conduct a survey to measure the achievement of this objective.)

○ Strategy 1: Enhance the website by adding a descriptive photo gallery.■ Tactic 1.1: The photo gallery will include photos of the surgery rooms and

cutting-edge equipment.■ Tactic 1.2: Include a description of each piece of equipment or room,

which will be integral to the success of this new site module because it explains the technology to the average reader.

○ Strategy 2: Engage local media to utilize traditional media channels.■ Tactic 1.1: Invite local media to the hospital to get a behind-the-scenes

tour featuring the highly-trained medical staff and state-of-the-art equipment.

■ Tactic 1.2: Host news launch events for any newly-installed equipment.■ Tactic 1.3: Send news releases to all appropriate local, national and

international media for newly-installed equipment and newsworthy instances. Developing meaningful press relationships will help in gaining media coverage.

Evaluation: Conduct a post-survey and measure the change in awareness within the target audience of the hospital’s equipment, technology, and surgery rooms.

● Objective 4: Use social media and a digital media plan as a tool to establish an online referral system in order to monitor the reactions of Salvadoran-Americans and Hispanic Americans. (1,500 clicks and hits combined on the website and posts using hashtags.)

○ Rationale: Social media is a fast-growing field in which information can be spread very quickly. Through different uses, such as a hashtags, what people are saying on the Internet could be easily tracked. Ideally, social media would be used to recommend and promote Hospital de Diagnóstico.

■ Strategy 1: Utilize social media and digital media to monitor conversations. (Example: Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

■ Tactic 1.1: Create a hashtag we can monitor through Facebook and Twitter platforms.

■ Tactic 1.2: Promote our Facebook page among our previous clients, so they can invite their friends to “Like” the page.

References:

Brown, A., & Patten, E. (2013, June 19). Hispanics of Salvadoran Origin in the United States, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/06/19/hispanics-of-salvadoran-origin-in-the-united-states-2011/

Thackeray, R., Crookston, B., & West, J. (2013, January 1). JMIR-Journal of Medical Internet Research. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.jmir.org/2013/1/e21/

El Salvador: Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/elsalvador2.html