Memorial Hospital took home two awards from the Illinois Society of Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations (ISHMPR) Fall Conference in Peoria, IL on October 13. The Hospital received an Award of Excellence, the highest honor in the Community Outreach category, for their Memorial Community Pharmacy campaign, that involved branding, marketing, and educational materials for the new Pharmacy that opened in February of 2022. They were also awarded the Award of Merit, the second highest honor in the Newsletter category, for their “60 Years of Growing to Meet Your Needs” issue, which was published in March of 2022.
Marketing and Community Relations Coordinator, Mariah Bargman, is a member of ISHPMR and submitted both projects for this year’s Pinnacle Awards and was in attendance to receive the awards. “It was an honor to bring home top honors in both categories this year,” said Bargman. “A lot of hard work was put into both projects.”
For the Pharmacy campaign, collaboration with Kathy Winkler, Director of Pharmacy, and her entire department was essential. Together the two departments worked together to create an identity for the new retail pharmacy which included a logo, signage and supporting materials. They also took careful consideration in how the information should be shared with the community, and what were the benefits the new service would bring to the customers. In all, the project involved the creation of a webpage for the pharmacy, social and print ads to promote the new service line, informational handouts and instructions for the patients and the staff. Since the Pharmacy opened earlier this year, the community has welcomed them and the feedback has been positive. The staff looks forward to implementing more improvements in the future and continuing to serve new patients each day.
The 60th Anniversary Newsletter issue of “The Lamp,” was an extensive research project that involved combing through historical articles and scrapbooks, and finding photos that depict the history of Memorial Hospital. The goal of the commemorative issue was to celebrate the Hospital’s 60th Anniversary and to showcase the many advancements in healthcare, the facility, the improvements to patient care that have been implemented over the years, and how healthcare has grown. “It was fun,” said Bargman, “to find photos of staff from their earlier years at the hospital, whom have been with us for 40 years or more. And to see how large the equipment used to be and how technology has really changed some of our diagnostic services. It really resonated with me that many find our Hospital an essential place to work and the community truly appreciates the services we have to offer.” The newsletter was circulated via email to subscribers and shared online for the public. Printed copies were available at special events throughout the year and the digital version can still be found on the hospital’s website at www.mhchester.com.
ISHMPR is an affiliate of the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) and is a group of healthcare marketing and communications professionals dedicated to offering networking, recognition and educational opportunities for professionals in the field. The Fall Conference is an annual event that incorporates training and education with a recognition, Pinnacle Award Ceremony.