Healthcare professionals are in a unique position. Those in the industry have the opportunity to interact with a variety of people within their community. For that reason, healthcare workers are intrinsically tied to their local community.
Maintaining a good relationship with your community doesn’t end at the office. Engaging with your local community beyond the doors of your facility is one of the most important ways to maintain and improve your position in the field.
Seminars
Keep your community informed about what is happening at your facility as well as new development in your field by holding open seminars. Invite physicians and other health care professionals to give presentations related to their fields of expertise. This can help keep patients and local partners up-to-date about what is going on at your facility and provide enormous goodwill and f enthusiasm about the hospital.
Support groups
Does your facility provide adequate support for those who need your services? A lot of successful facilities help out by providing groups for those with health care needs can meet for educational programs and support from both health care professionals and each other. These types of initiatives are highly successful because they both build relations between community members and help patients feel more informed and empowered when it comes to their own health.
Supporting local business and organizations
Be the face of your community by partnering with local businesses whose services you support and whose values your facility shares. This is a great way to help sow trust between community leaders and your facility in addition to drawing attention to your services. Demonstrating that you are committed to the health and future of your town or neighborhood helps prove that you are committed to quality relationships with patients and partners within the community.
Also consider organizing your own events. Maybe your facility is able to organize a fruit festival to do something fun in the community while promoting nutrition. Don’t be afraid of being creative!
Publicity
Develop a meaningful media strategy that explains what services you provide and how they fit with your hospital goals. Healthcare is complicated and can sometimes be frightening, which is why it’s important to provide accurate and comprehensive information that answers the most common people have. Pay attention to patient concerns and use those to develop your media strategy. Often people have similar questions, and if you can answer them before being asked, you can demonstrate that your facility is both knowledgeable and tuned-in to concerns real people have about their own care.
Use social media to your advantage by creating and participating in an online dialogue. Online media is collaborative by its nature, which makes it a great place to respond to feedback and convey information about your services.
Train your staff
Teach your staff how to more effectively engage with patient and family members. Whether you’re answering questions by phone or providing information to the patient and/or family members, your team should be ready to develop relationships with the people whose are impacted by your services. Everyone who works at your facility should be on the same page when it comes to customer service and community relations, which is one good reason why regular meetings and seminars are important to maintaining a collaborative and productive team.
