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Fall conference: Swing into action

11/03/2017 10:04 PM | Rebecca Kindall Nelson (Administrator)

Swing into actionIn your drive to be the best, there’s nothing like learning from your peers and expanding your network.

During the MHSCN fall conference on Friday, Nov. 3, health care communicators and marketers elevated their game with a great line-up of speakers covering a wide range of topics.

The Opioid Crisis in the Era of Fake News

When the topic is the opioid crisis, what is fact and what it fiction – especially in this era of information overload? Exactly how widespread and long-term is the opioid problem? 

Carol Falkowski is one of Minnesota's foremost experts on drug abuse. Her presentation highlighted the nature and scope of the opioid crisis and outlined the challenges of effectively addressing it on multiple fronts. Presenter is 

Carol FalkowskiCarol Falkowski, CEO of Drug Abuse Dialogues, is the former director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. 

She has been part of a nationwide drug abuse surveillance network of the National Institute on Drug Abuse since 1986. She was director of research communications at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for a decade. 

Falkowski has served as an advisor to federal, state and private agencies, including the FDA, the Department of Justice, the Rand Corporation, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. She has been quoted in USA Today, New York Times, the BBC, National Public Radio, CNN with Anderson Cooper and the Today Show. She is currently CEO of Drug Abuse Dialogues, a local training and consultation organization.

Engaging Physicians in Healthcare PR

Physicians are highly credible sources of healthcare information for consumers and the community. This presentation focused on how Hennepin County Medical Center’s Dr. David Hilden has embraced his role as the organization’s medical spokesperson and developed the Healthy Matters platform – which includes a weekly radio show, podcasts and blog. 

Tips and tactics for media training and engaging physicians in public relations activities were part of this engaging session.

Christine HillChristine Hill is the senior media relations specialist at Hennepin County Medical Center where she manages all aspects of media relations for HCMC by coordinating interviews, pitching stories, writing news releases, and responding to requests from reporters for interviews and information.

David HildenDavid Hilden, MD, MPH, FACP, is an internal medicine physician at Hennepin County Medical Center. He is the interim department chief and cares for adults facing acute illness in the hospital as well as chronic conditions in the clinic. 

He also has expertise in population health and medical education, and strives to promote wellness with his patients not only when sick but in all aspects of their lives. 

Among other awards, he received the Physician Communicator Award from Minnesota Medical Association in 2010.

Leveraging Live Video to Engage Your Audience

If you're not using live video to help share your healthcare stories, you're missing out, and so is your audience. Sharing video is easier than ever and anyone can do it. There is still a place for highly produced video in healthcare communications, but the advent of live video and the ability to shoot on your cell phone has changed the landscape of what people expect in terms of content and how it is delivered. 

This session showed how you can use live video on social media to tell communicate unique stories from your organization including news, events, patient and/or physician interviews, tours and more. We also went over equipment basics, best shooting techniques and various publishing methods.

Nick HansonNick Hanson has worked in healthcare communications for more than a decade. He has held positions at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, Mayo Clinic and currently manages media and social strategy at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare. 

Hanson has expertise in crisis communication, public affairs campaigns, social media/digital strategy and media relations. 

Hanson was a digital strategist at Himle Rapp and Company and worked for Carmichael Lynch Relate. He was also a reporter at the St. Cloud Times and Mankato Free Press.

Be the Change: Eliminating Stigma
Around Mental Health and Addiction

Engaging employees in things they care about is key to successfully changing culture within any organization. Allina Health recently launched Be the Change, an effort to eliminate stigma around mental health and addiction conditions within the organization. 

This presentation explained how robust internal communication strategies, active engagement from employees, and various employee activities aimed at building awareness and changing behavior helped Allina Health see significant improvement in employee perceptions about the organization and its effort to support these patients.

Aimee PappenfusAimee Pappenfus manages community partnerships in support of the Allina Health community health priority areas of healthy eating/active living and mental wellness. 

She also oversees large scale system-wide events and activities within Allina Health, including the Mission Matters employee volunteerism program, charitable contributions, and the large community engagement effort Free Bikes 4 Kidz.

Ellie HackenmillerEllie Hackenmiller was a co-leader of Be the Change. 

She also leads several internal initiatives to engage employees in projects that spark a passion. They include the Allina Health Global Fund, which provides financial assistance to employees who volunteer outside of the Allina Health service area, and the Medical Supply Donation Program.

Resiliency: Not Just a Buzzword

Resiliency is being discussed in lots of contexts, but what does it really mean?  How can it be applied to my work?  Or my organization?  What tips can I learn to help support my team or other healthcare workers?  

This presentation provides some definitions, tips and tools for how to bolster a resilient organization and a more resilient you.

Melanie SullivanMel Sullivan joined Constellation from Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) in October 2016, where she had served as the chief operating officer and directed the merger of TCO and St. Croix Orthopaedics. 

Now as Constellation’s first chief people officer, Sullivan is committed to supporting people and advancing talent strategies, while building engagement and developing and supporting multiple teams. She is also responsible for assessing the industry and market space, proposing and locating partners and collaborators, and developing an external advisory council.

House Calls: Don’t Leave Your Consumer Mindset
Behind When Creating B2B Healthcare Content

You’re so consumer you don’t even know it. You think like one. You certainly buy like one. Now you need to start strategizing and executing like one. 

Healthcare is dominating every aspect of our work and professional lives, especially as we collectively embrace the broader concept of well-being. Yet too often healthcare marketing is perceived as being comprised of dry, policy-oriented content or blink-and-you-miss-them cookie-cutter visuals. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Andy JacobsonAndy Jacobson, HealthFitness director of strategic communications, will share how he and his team follow a “consumer is king” mindset when developing a B2B content strategy, executing against it and determining the best means of sharing its elements. Jacobson sets strategy and direction for external communications outreach, encompassing digital, PR and social media for HealthFitness. 

An East Coaster by birth and Minnesotan by choice, Jacobson spent nearly 15 years in the agency world prior to joining HealthFitness.

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