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History and Background
In Minnesota, health care communications, marketing and planning professional organizations have existed for more than 35 years. The Minnesota Council for Health Care Marketing and Public Relations (MHCMPR), originally the Minnesota Council for Hospital Public Relations, began as a committee affiliated with the Minnesota Hospital Association in the early 1970s. Minnesota Health Strategy Network was created in 1981 out of a Council of Community Hospitals’ committee, with a focus on planning and marketing. In the summer of 1996, the two organizations came together to form the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network (MHSCN).

The founders of MHSCN and its predecessor organizations saw a need for a network through which health care professionals could learn from each other the best approaches to strategy development, marketing techniques and effective communications. During this era of tremendous change in the way health care is delivered and managed, MHSCN continues to be a cost-effective and convenient source of education and support to planning, marketing and communication professionals.

In 2008, MHSCN was re-established as an official nonprofit organization, registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Now officially entitled the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network, Inc., the new entity has assumed the purpose, goals and activities of the preceding MHSCN organization. The bylaws were revised in September 2008 to reflect the organization’s new nonprofit status.

MHSCN operates with the support of the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), which also serves as its home base. The board consists of 18 members from numerous organizations and includes representatives from greater Minnesota as well as the Twin Cities metro area.

MHSCN continues the tradition of its predecessors, providing inexpensive educational programs for their members, including in-depth semi-annual conferences. The history of our organization is shaped directly by its more than 200 members, whose involvement is essential to its success.

Purpose
The purpose of this nonprofit organization is to:

  1. Foster awareness and understanding of health care strategic planning, marketing and public relations projects, programs and activities.
  2. Provide educational opportunities designed to improve professional skills of the health care strategic planning, marketing and public relations practitioner.
  3. Improve the image and credibility of health care strategic planning, public relations and marketing practitioners.
  4. Enhance and promote the organization to its members and to other related organizations.

Vision and Mission
Vision: The Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network (MHSCN), Inc. will be the state’s trusted and preferred organization for professional development and best practices in health care strategic planning, marketing, public relations and communications.

Mission: The Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network (MHSCN), Inc. provides networking and educational opportunities designed to improve the professional skills of health care strategic planning, marketing, public relations and communications.

Values:

  1. MHSCN takes its “mission” (what we call ourselves) to heart — We have always tried to go beyond the minimal to provide a very high level of services to our members — to be very “value-added.”
  2. MHSCN is inclusive — We cover a lot of territory and welcome to our network everyone sharing our interests. We work hard to offer our members many ways to participate in our group.
  3. MHSCN is affordable — We are likely the only professional organization offering annual membership for $40.
    MHSCN is thoughtful, yet practical — With “strategic” in our name, the thoughtful part may be pretty obvious. However, part of being strategic is learning how to be more effective on the job.
  4. MHSCN stretches itself and its members — We strive to offer content (programs, newsletter, interest groups, etc.) that is based on breaking news and emerging trends and to use new tools and technology to help members deal with dynamic, growing job roles.
  5. MHSCN is fun — We work hard to provide our members with temporary relief and respite from the pressure cooker that is modern health care planning and marketing.