Before G2Comm arrived on the scene, Eden Medical Center, a San Francisco Bay Area hospital and medical center, was beset by negative press coverage of labor union strikes, disgruntled physicians from its sister hospital, and controversy over Eden’s plans to build a seismically safe replacement hospital from scratch (which is now open, as of this blog post). Although the hospital did damage control when reporters called and seminars were held to educate the public, follow-up coverage was spotty and opportunities to counteract controversial news with positive stories were slipping through the cracks.
G2Comm jumped in to fill those cracks by building an image campaign with the purpose of restoring enthusiasm, trust and confidence from the communities served by the hospital, as well as instilling pride among hospital staff. We mobilized the staff to identify news opportunities, wrote press releases, counseled hospital spokespersons on media interviews, and arranged for two local newspaper groups to publish health columns which G2Comm wrote for physicians and specialists affiliated with Eden.
The Results
—Between 7 and 8 positive stories and health columns appeared monthly in daily and weekly newspapers, including two separate segments about a senior fitness program on the Bay Area ABC TV affiliate that yielded over 100 inquiries and 40 new members for one of its programs.
—PR brought in new patients, helped fill community seminars, increase sign ups for Eden outpatient programs and created so many calls from patients for one ob-gyn that she had to refer the overflow to colleagues.
