JOMC 232 – Public Relations Writing Margrethe Williams
Fall 2013 Dr. Lois Boynton
December 3, 2013
1. Reflections on service 2. Time log 3. Communication audit
a. Audit b. Backgrounder c. SWOT analysis d. Recommendations
4. PHS speech 5. A strategic vision of PHS on LinkedIn
Working with Piedmont Health Services taught me teamwork and patience. In
academia, we are often absorbed in the almost solitary nature of our own work. Working
with a real client required us as students to realize that we are not the priority. Not only
were we forced to work together as a class, but we were delegated tasks according to
the needs of the communications director.
The most valuable part of the project was the amount of feedback available from
various parties. Suddenly our work was more than something between professor and
the student; we presented our work to the class and Debra Markley at PHS. A real
challenge I encountered was the surprising amount of red tape. Though I’m sure at
larger institutions, there is much more, the difference between internal and external
deadline was immense. It was apparent that our work would need to be reviewed and
edited and approved before it could be put in front of actual PHS clients.
I don’t think there was an invaluable part of this class. I was introduced to a
variety of public relations tools that I could apply to the client – or any future client of
mine in the future. After touring the PHS office and meeting some clients of theirs, I
have much fewer recommendations than before. I am impressed with the scale of the
organization, and the only room for improvement I witnessed was with donors. The
center brings in millions of dollars each year between federal and state grants, and
individual donations. However, with more donation money, management would be able
to bolster the staff and facilities. My recommendation for communicating with donors is
to increase the frequency with which current communication is used, as well as making
strategic connections via LinkedIn and other social media to make targeted asks.
Date Activity Hours
9/10 Research 3
9/11 Research 3
9/18 Research 2
9/19 E-FAQ 3
10/10 PHS visit 3
10/23 LinkedIn proposal 1
10/29 Revision 2
10/30 LinkedIn update to turn in 3
11/12 Revision 3
11/13 LinkedIn update to turn in 2
11/14 Speechwriting 3
12/2 Portfolio work 5
Total 33
Overall, the web site is strong, and needs improvement in only a few areas. One
of those areas is Spanish-language information. Other areas that the organization can
improve its internal and external communication are donor relations.
The outreach to donors is virtually non-existent online, and on paper, donation
requests are unattractive and outdated. Overall, the website does an excellent job
storytelling about PHS patients and attracting patients to the health center. The quilt
motif – while it has little to do with the center or its brand image – is comforting and
should be incorporated in other aspects of the organization.
There are a few significant disconnects. Ninety-nine percent of the staff is
bilingual and the center is labeled with signs in various languages – yet it depends on its
website and Facebook page to disseminate a few key pieces of information – and it
does so strictly in English.
Another important suggestion is that the center provide information for its
patients and, for that matter, serve as a source for information for the community with
the implementation of the new healthcare law. All company communication should
provide some avenue for those that have questions about how their healthcare or
healthcare coverage will change with the Affordable Care Act.
If the center can embody its role as a “healthcare home” – a cozy yet uniform and
effective organization – its success will only continue to grow.
Backgrounder
Piedmont Health Services began in 1970 as a single community health center to
provide primary care to the community of Prospect Hill, N.C. The center treated non-
emergencies to decrease the number of uninsured patients in the hospital emergency
room, and provided care to those that could not afford private doctor visits.
That one community center grew into what is now a group of seven health
centers that provide comprehensive health services including pharmacy, dental and
medical care to each of their communities. In 2012, Piedmont Health Services served
over 40,000 patients. The private nonprofit is dedicated to the sustained improvement of
its services and its mission to serve North Carolina communities. In 2013, the seventh
center was opened at Sylvan Community Center in Snow Camp, N.C.
Piedmont relies completely on donations. Last year, its donations totaled more
than $1 million in state and federal grant funding, adding another year to the trend of
increased fundraising. The company is a part of the State Employee Donation
Campaign and relies on that as a source of income along with its own series of events
and donation campaigns.
The organization employs close 85 full-time staff members and maintains a team
of volunteers. Communication with its publics is primarily carried out through brochures
and fliers in-office and in partner offices, along with daily Facebook posts and monthly
newsletter blasts. The centers offer a number of special programs, including WIC for
women and children and PACE, and all-inclusive health program for seniors.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis for: Piedmont Health Services Company Communication
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Piedmont health
services listed
first when
Googled.
Easy to find
donation portal
Variety of
organization
systems for ease
of search (by Dr.,
by location, etc.).
Organization of
headings –
variety of specific
headings makes
for pages that
are not filled to
the brim with
text.
Attractive site
keeps the viewer
interested.
It’s possible to
find out how to
make an
appointment, but
could be easier.
Lots of text mars
the process
rather than a
colored button
like the donation
process.
Translation
services – but
when you click
the Español tab,
it doesn’t
translate the site
but instead
brings the reader
to a separate
web page.
Search function
should search
titles before text
– when the word
appointment is
searched, at the
bottom of the
Large Hispanic
population in the
area - There is the
opportunity to
appeal to Hispanic
patients better –
already they offer
translation
services – the
website should
communicate that
better.
The donation
page has the
opportunity to be
more emotionally
engaging – right
now it only has
text but could
include photos,
too.
Opportunity exists
to make avenues
more direct by
dividing the site’s
audience into
categories
(patient,
Uncertainty of federal
funding with the imminent
implementation of
Obamacare.
Competition -
Piedmonthealthservices.org
is the title of an unrelated
site.
Threat of losing a donation
or a client due to lack of
direction (there is no phone
number on the homepage).
Photos of
management
team make the
org. relatable.
Social media
links easily
accessible for
feedback.
Language
choices –
“Welcome
Home,” etc.
brands the site
as a place of
comfort.
results page is
the process for
making an appt –
after articles that
mention the
word.
Inconsistency –
header and
footer titles lead
to same places
with different
titles.
Too much info.
on homepage
employee, etc.).
Recommendations
This year is a year to focus on providing healthcare to everyone. With the dawn
of the affordable care act, the message this year is one of universal healthcare – amid
the uncertainty of the law – Piedmont Health Services doesn’t turn anyone away.
Through a variety of programs, Piedmont supports this mission. For example, the
center’s sliding pay scale allows families at all income levels to afford treatment,
multiple locations and bilingual care providers are also facets of this mission, making it
easy for families that live in remote corners of the state from remote corners of the world
to access the same quality care that is available for everyone else.
The message this year should be a spread not only in its patient recruiting efforts
but also in its donation requests. The stress should be on continuing the quality care of
the center – a “healthcare home” for communities in the triangle and expanding the care
to everyone regardless of access to insurance, employment, or anything else.
In regards to contacting donors, I suggest an increased boldness online. The
outreach to distinct audiences should be as distinct online as it is in print; therefore
different platforms or pages will appeal to repeat patients versus new patients versus
potential donors. I recommend the creation of a LinkedIn company page to attract
benefactors outside the normal fundraising radius. In addition, Facebook posts should
be modified to be more appropriate for patients in both content and language.
The Piedmont Health Services website is diverse and caters to a variety of
stakeholder groups: prospective patients, benefactors, employees, and community
members. While the design and choice of language are effective in branding the site as
a safe haven, I would recommend organizing the site by group. At this point, there is too
much information on the homepage and the tabs could be confusing for a casual user.
The best course of action is to simplify the homepage: ask the visitor what group they
belong to – patient, community member (potential benefactor), or employee – and go
from there, tailoring the process to each one to better direct them to where they need
[and where PHS would like for them] to go.
Margrethe Williams
Piedmont Health Services
299 Lloyd St
Carrboro, NC 27510
Nov 20, 2013
SPEECH TEXT
Make Room for Piedmont Health in Your Budget
Brian Toomey, Speaker
Healthcare is controversial these days.
But it’s hard to argue with the fact that we’re
all human, we all get sick – and we all need a
place to go to when that happens. For 40
thousand North Carolinians last year – Piedmont
Health was that place.
I’m Brian Toomey, and I direct Piedmont
Health Services. We’re a nonprofit providing
dental, pharmaceutical and general medical care
to North Carolina communities.
-MORE-
PHS Ask/Page 2
We don’t turn anyone away, and we focus on
preventive healthcare. We eliminate unnecessary
emergency room visits and create stronger,
healthier communities.
Catherine Poole Watson was one of the
first employees in our Prospect Hill center.
She worked with Betty Compton, Doctor Glen
Pickard and Doctor Greenberg, who established
our first center as one of the highest quality.
After 37 years of dedicated service, Catherine
retired in 2009.
Five generations of the Poole family
receive services in Prospect Hill Community
Health Center. The family continues to visit
the center. They say they couldn’t imagine
going anywhere else for their check-ups; they
say “it feels like home.”
-MORE-
PHS Ask/Page 3
Back then there was only one center, but
now we have eight. We serve people at all
income levels, from all over the world - and we
provide jobs to 85 employees like you. More
than 90 percent of our staff is bilingual.
Piedmont survives completely on donations.
That means that your contribution goes to
medical equipment, finding and keeping quality
physicians and everything in between.
To continue offering our programs, we need
your tax-deductible donation. One hundred
percent of your gift will go back to your
community to educate, employ and heal your
neighbors and friends.
So I’m asking you to make room in your
budget this winter for Piedmont Health. The S-
E-C-C number is 1873 and your gift will change
more lives than your own. Thank you.
##
Questions:
1. How much of PHS’s income is from individual
donations, and how much is from grants or other
sources?
It varies each year. Last year, we raised just over 1
million dollars of state and federal funding. A large
part of our income is from individual donations, and
the extent of services we provide is contingent upon
the donations we receive.
2. How do you treat patients without insurance?
Piedmont doesn’t turn anyone away. That being said,
we ask patients to pay what they can for services. We
have a partnership with the state Chamber of Commerce
to provide discounts to its employees without
insurance.
3. Do you plan to open any more centers?
That depends on need. Right now, we plan to focus on
making sure all of our centers – especially our new
Sylvan center in Snow Camp – are serving as many
patients as they can.
A Strategic Vision of
on
_____________________________________________________________________________________
LinkedIn has over 225 million users. The median income of the site’s users is
$139,000, according to The PR Styleguide (2013) by Barbara Diggs-Brown. In addition
to their professional identity, users express involvement in side projects, passion for
causes and interest in nonprofits. The development of a company profile page on the
site will enhance Piedmont Health Service’s online brand and leverage its existing
network of employees, board members, donors - and the network of each of those
hundreds of individuals.
The page is broken into sections, with only those that have been completed on display.
My suggestion for the company is completion of all functions of the page before launch.
With the launch of the company page, an incentive to sign up and link to the company’s
page will be provided for all employees and board members. While the purpose of the
site is predominantly to create, categorize and retrieve information, I recommend using
the update function to link to online articles published by the PHS newsletter as well as
all relevant articles referenced on other social media platforms. Using this strategy,
upkeep of the profile will be simple and effective. This can be done through a social
media updating service such as TweetDeck.
To build a network of prospective donors, regular posts will contribute to the promotion
of the page and encouragement of opinion leaders to follow news from the site. New
printed materials should be updated to include the LinkedIn logo, to highlight PHS’s
presence on the platform.
After reaching a threshold of followers to be decided on by the communication decision-
maker, an online discussion group will be created with relevant topics to discuss new
projects and specific organizational needs.
Sample Company Profile on LinkedIn
Piedmont Health Services is a community health nonprofit based out of Carrboro, NC. The organization operates seven community health centers in Carrboro, Burlington, Moncure, Prospect Hill, Scott, Siler City and Snow Camp, NC. At Piedmont Health, we’re rooted in our community. We are determined to deliver quality health care to everyone with compassion, devotion and clinical sophistication; because we all deserve the benefits of a healthier life. From an infant getting her first well-baby checkup to a teenager getting a wisdom tooth pulled to a grandpa needing help managing his diabetes – welcome to Piedmont Health.
Services offered include dental, pharmaceutical and general medical care at reduced prices. Anyone is welcome to visit the centers.
Specialties Industry Type Medical Services, Dental Care, Pharmacy, Hospital & Health Care Nonprofit Nutrition Counseling, Disease Management, Health Support Website Company Size Heaquarters http://www.piedmonthealth.org 51-200 employees 301 Lloyd St
Carrboro, NC 27510
Piedmont Health
About Piedmont Health
How to Set up a Company Page
1. Sign in to LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) or create an account 2. Hover over “Interests” the last subheading on the top left of the page 3. Click on “Companies” 4. Click on the blue text “Add a Company” at the top right of the page 5. Enter company name and official e-mail address, then hit continue 6. Enter information about company as provided in this document
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