Running head: WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT

Week 2 Assignment - Research and Planning Writing Assignment

By
John Fanning

Author note
This assignment is written for Strategic Communication and Professional Writing
COM 60511
The health organization chosen for this assignment is Presence St. Joseph Hospital located in
Elgin, Illinois.

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Heart Disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States
(Mozaffarian et al., 2015). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention highlights the
sobering statistics about this issue on their website (Women and Heart Disease, n.d.). The reality
is that there can be an overall perception in our society that this is just a problem that
predominantly affects men. In a 2009 study, only 54% of respondents correctly identified heart
disease/heart attack as the leading cause of death among women (Mosca et al, 2010, p. 121).
We at Presence St. Joseph in Elgin, Ill, have an opportunity to further brand ourselves as
a leader in the treatment and prevention of heart disease in women. We currently promote this
area as one of our strengths, but typically relegate mention of it to the end of any discussion on
cardiovascular health (Heart and Vascular Institute, n.d.). This also is an area where we are not
able to tout outside rankings and awards that enhance our image as a leader in womens heart
health issues. Because of this, some stakeholders and potential stakeholders may view this as
being an insincere attempt by St. Joseph at showing a concern for these issues by just giving lip
service to our emphasis on them.
There are debates on whether preventive medicine can save money for patients and
medical facilities in the long-term due to the potential cost of preventive medicine can be
negated by the financial savings it may lead to (Begley, 2013). Those debates mostly look at
costly preventive measures. An economical approach to preventive medicine would include an
awareness campaign which would encompass many of the marketing tools we already have in
place. Making women aware of some of the risk factors to look for as it pertains to heart disease,
as well as general timelines in the life cycle when most women should be more concerned with
heart health, can be done by increased coverage of this issue in our already established hospital

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newsletter, community information monitors throughout the hospital, and by way of our
continuing education classes we already give to the general public for free.
This is a cost-effective way to help control long-term costs and allow us to compete well
against nearby hospitals. This effort not only would prove cost-effective in the long term, but
would also brand our image in a positive manner. Not only would the public awareness campaign
focus on women, but the focus would also consist of entire families which can lead to broad
support. Elgin is a community of over 100,000 residents with over half that number female, and
with over one-third of its residents under the age of 21 (American Fact Finder, n.d.). Besides the
current market of people that would be receptive to this campaign, there is also the potential for
positive branding for future generations. This is especially important in Elgin as we have two
major hospitals just a few minutes from each other, and many more in surrounding cities.
In addition to the cost savings and long-term health benefits to our patients this campaign
would assist our doctors and other medical staff greatly. Having a campaign which builds trust
and shows compassion toward our patients will inevitably make the job of our medical staff
easier and more productive when dealing directly with their patients. This shows our medical
staff that we as an organizations value them as professionals whose expertise are appreciated and
respected by the hospital and the patients they treat.
This campaign also will foster a positive relationship between the hospital and the
community we serve. It can be difficult to quantify the financial benefits of having a better
reputation in the community, but in general a better relationship between the hospital and its
neighbors can only have a net positive effect. Having a strong sense of community pride in the
local hospital, especially as it pertains to an issue like treating heart disease, can increase the
overall positive image of the hospital in the community. The time may come when we may need

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the need the support of the community we are located. We can benefit if we promote this
campaign within the local community to instill a sense that we are an institution that is part of
what makes Elgin, and the surrounding area, a great place to live.
Finally, creating a slogan to assist in this campaign can help make our hospital unique.
From the old saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away (Ely, 2013) to The Power of
Prevention (2016 ACPM, 2016), a good promotional awareness slogan can resonate with the
community. In this situation our slogan would be specific to promote womens heart health
awareness at first, but it could then be associated with our hospital as a whole and our many
other services. This campaign is ready now to commence by our PR department in conjunction
with our community relations staff and representatives from our executive leadership. Other than
the nominal cost already budgeted for in-house creation of posters and pamphlets that will
outline the awareness campaign, there will are no additional costs required by our hospital. Our
first meeting to develop the particulars of the awareness campaign can be scheduled immediately
upon hospital approval of the campaign. Thank you for your attention.
References
2016 ACPM annual meeting: Preventive medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from
https://www.eventscribe.com/2016/ACPM-Annual/
American Fact Finder. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
Begley, S. (2013, January 29). Think preventive medicine will save money? Think again.
Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-preventiveeconomics-idUSBRE90S05M20130129

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Ely, M. (2013, September 24). History behind 'An apple a day'. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/history-behind-an-apple-aday/2013/09/24/aac3e79c-1f0e-11e3-94a2-6c66b668ea55_story.html
Heart and Vascular Institute at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2016,
from http://www.presencehealth.org/presence-saint-joseph-hospital-elgin-cardiovascularcare
Mosca L., Mochari-Greenberger H., Dolor RJ., Newby LK., & Robb KJ. (2010) Twelve-year
follow-up of American womens awareness of cardiovascular disease risk and
barriers to heart health. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality Outcomes. (3) 120-127.
Mozaffarian, D., Benjamin, EJ., Go, AS., Arnett, DK., Blaha, MJ., Cushman, M., Das, SR., de
Ferranti, S., Desprs, JP., Fullerton, HJ., Howard, VJ., Huffman, MD., Isasi, CR.,
Jimnez, MC., Judd, SE., Kissela, BM., Lichtman, JH., Lisabeth, LD., Liu, S., Mackey,
RH., Magid, DJ., McGuire, DK., Mohler, ER III., Moy, CS., Muntner, P., Mussolino,
ME., Nasir, K., Neumar, RW., Nichol, G., Palaniappan, L., Pandey, DK., Reeves, MJ.,
Rodriguez, CJ., Rosamond, W., Sorlie, PD., Stein, J., Towfighi, A., Turan, TN., Virani,
SS., Woo, D., Yeh, RW., & Turner, MB. (2015). American Heart Association Statistics
Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2016
update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. (133) e38e360.
Women and heart disease fact sheet. (2015). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_women_heart.htm

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