Healthy Promotion: An Interview With Two Hospital PR Writers:

Haley Crider and Natalie Simms

By Leslie Johnston

It is a place, certainly, where we will all go at some in point in our lives, usually not by our own choice. It is the place where most of our lives begin and the place where most of our lives will end.

It is a place, which in terms of its relationship to the communities it serves, has changed radically over the past decade.

Once upon a time it would have been unheard of for a hospital to advertise or to promote itself. In today's competitive, market-driven economy, hospitals must sell themselves not only to prospective patients, but also in the bid for employees and top medical professionals and physicians for its staff.

What is it like to be a writer on a hospital staff, to be a partner in the promotion of what is probably the most humanitarian endeavor in the world and which is, at the same time, undeniably very "big business"?

To find some answers, I recently spent some time with two writers on the staff of Rome's Floyd Medical Center-Haley Crider, Director of Public Relations and Natalie Simms, a Public Relations Specialist.

Floyd Medical Center is a 304-bed, not-for-profit hospital that provides medical services for residents of northwest Georgia. The medical center includes women's and infants' services, a trauma and emergency care unit, a cardiac and a diabetes care unit, rehabilitation services, and a sleep disorders center. In addition, the health system includes a home health agency; hospice care; a primary care network of physicians; Windwood, a 54-bed psychiatric hospital; and Health @Work, which provides occupational health services to business and industry.

The public relations department has a staff of three-Haley, Natalie, and Donna Thompson, whose duties primarily involve graphic design and layout. I chatted with Haley and Natalie, both attractive, well dressed, articulate young women in Haley's office. The office, located on the first floor (basement) of the original hospital structure, is spartan, and almost clinically clean, neat, and well organized. These surroundings are hospital gray and white. There is very little in the way of decoration or personal mementos. It is functional, but comfortable.

Our conversation ranged over a number of general topics: types of writing; the impact and uses of technology; research; multiple projects; deadlines; interruptions; the creative process and writer's block; proofing, editing, and collaboration; as well as crisis communications, image campaign development, Web site development, and writing outside of the work day.

The variety of publications on which they work is quite diverse. Haley and Natalie create public service announcements; press releases; newsletters; brochures; a quarterly magazine; print ads; radio ads; television ads; billboard design and copy; Web site copy; business correspondence (i.e., letters, memoranda, etc.); and even the comparatively lowly scripts for the telephone commercials we hear when we are on hold when calling the hospital. As we briefly reviewed each of these writing formats, one dominant theme recurred: the necessity of writing for the ear as well as the eye.

The most fascinating of all these forms of communication is what Haley describes as ghost writing. The majority of the ghost writing is for the hospital's president and includes his letters, articles in hospital publications that go out under his signature, as well as some speeches. Haley is able to develop his style of writing-to approximate his "voice"-not so much as a result of spending time with him one-on-one, but through time spent observing his interaction with others. "You listen to him speaking, to his choice of words, how he says things, how he puts things together. What prepositions does he use, how does he use pauses? What is his vocabulary?"

Writing for audience is a critical component of the writing process. In hospital publications there is a very wide range of audience levels for which one must write, even within a single identifiable market segment. A diabetes education press release sent to the Rome News-Tribune has a different style and a different level of writing than an internal document for physicians on the same topic.

A good example of writing for audience is the hospital's pediatrics brochure. The parents of sick children come from all social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. This cheerful blue and yellow tri-fold brochure uses an appropriate number of animal visuals balanced with short and simple copy that still manages to cover most of the basic questions a child's family would have. The headings are in a visually effective typestyle that approximates a child's handwriting. The back of the brochure is used for a small amount of information about the hospital gift shop which stocks both infant wear and toys.

Recent developments in computer technology have transformed writing in this office, as they have in most others. Haley, who came to the hospital in 1992 as a college intern, recalled the Selectric typewriter on which press releases were produced-this a mere eight years ago. Haley and Natalie both believe that writers, by and large, acquire their knowledge of the uses of technology in writing through "on the job training," as opposed to coming into jobs with training acquired through course work. The software programs they most frequently use include the Microsoft Office suite, Pagemaker, Quark, Corel Draw, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

Research is a central activity before any writing takes place. Current examples are the prostate cancer screenings promotions that took place last month (in September), and the promotions for breast cancer awareness activities that take place this month (in October). Background material is gathered for information such as risk factors, screening or testing recommendations based on age as well as personal and family medical history, incidence rates, and treatment options. Research material is gathered primarily from on-line resources, from resident experts on staff, not only physicians, but also other medical professionals and from professional organizations as well. For a press release about a community blood drive, for example, material is gathered from both the American Red Cross and the Blood Bank Manager at the hospital to ensure accuracy of details.

Public relations staff must wear many hats. These two staff members, in addition to their writing responsibilities, must also juggle other projects. On the day on which I visited with them, they were preparing for an upcoming accreditation visit to the hospital by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; were working with an artist on the creation of waist-high yellow cardboard storks to serve as "guides" to the maternity department; were coordinating Windwood's Mental Health Expo; and were working on material for The Rome News-Tribune following a hospital Board meeting. In addition, they had attended a Women's Information Network communications committee meeting and were completing a report for the county documenting the hospital's community benefits.

How do they find time to write? Where do they write? They write in their offices with their doors open. Both writers say they learn to handle interruptions as part of the daily routine, and both agree that mornings are their primary writing times. If they encounter the proverbial "writer's block," they leave the material for a time and work on another project or activity. There are always, in this environment, ongoing, year-round projects, some more important or urgent than others with 99% of them being projects with specific deadlines. Both writers agree that there are different composing styles among writers. Both of these staff members write "from beginning to end," in one sitting, as opposed to writers "who write down all their thoughts and then return to string them all together into organized copy."

As one might expect, the hospital maintains an internal communications plan in the event of community emergencies and crises. This action plan has been created and is updated frequently by the public relations department. Not all crises are medical or weather related. In recent weeks, the public relations staff has turned to their crisis communciations plan in response to the announcement of huge financial losses by the institution in the fiscal year just concluded. In order to articulate their message and balance unfavorable news media coverage, the public relations staff immediately sent letters to the hospital's four major constituents: employees, volunteers, physicians, and elected officials.

Perhaps the newest form or genre of business writing has developed in response to this type of crisis communciations planning. This document, known as "talking points," is written in response to an internal or external crisis or possible negative situation. In these situations, the public relations staff continues to use the traditional means of communication with reporters, family members, employees, and other involved groups such as press releases, prepared statements, and email updates. Talking points, however, script someone or a possibly a group of people on how to respond to inquiries. Employee leaders (staff) are scripted so that they may address their departments. The Q & A format is an excellent one for talking points. For Haley, developing and providing "talking points" has been the greatest professional achievement of her department during her tenure at the hospital.

Haley and Natalie believe that 90% of their work can be classified as creative, that any time you are writing, you are "creating," even when you are writing a business letter. We discussed the hospital's current image campaign whose theme is "Insist." "Having surgery? Insist on Floyd Medical Center." "Having a baby? Insist on Floyd Medical Center." Although we live in the age of managed health care, it has not proliferated to as great an extent in northwest Georgia as it has in other areas; therefore, prospective patients still very often have a choice of hospitals. The staff brainstormed and developed their theme during a retreat. The theme was then further developed with research and the compilation of statistical data regarding current market share and brand awareness. They are now preparing a community survey to see how much market share has shifted as a result of the outdoor (billboard), print, radio, and television campaign.

This small department practices document cycling with the two staff members editing and proofing each other's work. Haley, as department head, must approve all outgoing communications. "Never proof on screen," Haley advises. "Always print it out and do your editing on paper." The department follows AP style guidelines. In addition to the AP stylebook, Haley turns most often to a book entitled How To Say It, and to her most valued resource of all, the thesaurus. Revision of work is a daily part of writing. Often, particularly with brochures, size is a consideration and material will have to be fit into a specific space, while still communicating necessary information to the reader.

Collaboration is a way of life and a way of working. "Everything we work on touches something else we're doing, " according to Natalie. "There are very few totally separate projects." There is, obviously, collaboration in the most basic sense between the two staff writers, and there is also collaboration with the hospital staff and outside sources.

Writing for the hospital's Web site (www.floydmed.org) is very much like brochure copy writing, according to Haley. Material must be succinct, in small bites, easy for the reader to absorb and understand. "There is only a few seconds in which to grab the reader's attention. If there is too much copy and not enough visuals to break it up, the reader will be off the site in a few minutes." Writing for audience is a primary consideration in Web site copy. The hospital wants the community to receive helpful information that will allow them to make better-educated health-related decisions as a result of the material presented on the site. "One of the most important aspects of this site for us is that it be an interactive experience." The hospital's sleep disorders center page that contains a sleep disorders quiz is a good example.

You can now visit the Web site's "newest addition:" the Web Nursery to see photos of newborn babies at the hospital. Also available for site visitors is on-line registration for programs such as childbirth classes. In addition to functioning as a source of information, the Web site is increasingly being viewed by hospital administration as a marketing and sales tool, with e-commerce opportunities such as the ability to purchase flowers, shop in the hospital gift shop, and to make donations to the hospital's foundation on the horizon. The hospital public relations staff provides copy and content overview of the site. Actual production of the site is outsourced.

Neither of the two writers writes outside of her job, with the exception being the volunteer work they do for several community organizations in the areas of publicity and public relations. Neither is an after-hours poet, playwright, or budding novelist.

The advice they have for an aspiring professional writer is representative of their journalism training: Develop interviewing skills. Even if you're talking with someone down the hall, interviewing is obtaining information. Know the AP style rules well. Always use spellcheck on your computer. Proof your work in addition to using spellcheck. Quotes lend credibility. Learn how to use quotes appropriately.

I believe writing in this situation is a challenge because it requires creativity within a great deal of structured form. It requires aggressive promotion tempered with sensitivity and understanding. These writers are creators of material that often deals with the most simple, yet most sensitive basic life issues. This fact, together with the demands on any professional writer indeed makes writing "a blood, sweat and tears process."

Posted with the permission of Leslie Johnston, Haley Crider, and Natalie Simms. © 2002, 2008 Leslie Johnston.