In the age of news at our fingertips 24/7, COVID-19 has and will continue to dominate the news cycle and engagement on social media while fueling the ongoing “war on truth.” However, what has not disappeared is the value of foundational media relations as an important cornerstone of healthcare storytelling.
So, what’s on the horizon for 2022 and what tools from the toolbox will help us effectively tell those stories?
Like so many others, my career in healthcare was completely accidental at its inception. Years into a successful fundraising career and weeks into a master’s degree program, I decided to shift gears into health communications knowing little about either. The day after Lehman Brothers crashed, I impulsively accepted a mid-level communications position and a 25% pay cut with a nonprofit focused on strengthening primary care in New York City.
This blog was also published on The Drum.The COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it caused took a significant toll on our mental health. Yet it has also accelerated a positive shift toward more frequent, nuanced and responsible media coverage of mental health issues and suicide. Brands have noticed, and more companies have entered the mental health conversation during Mental Health Month 2021.
What few people know about me is I love comic books. It’s not about the Marvel movies, although they are really good. As times get tough, I think we all want to find ways to stay positive and seek the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Reading comics and watching related shows and movies has been a great escape. And, every once in a while, you get to see one of your “heroes” do something good.
Oct. 2 (tonight), one of my favorite team of television heroes from “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” will reunite for a cause: Smile Train’s World Smile Day® Live. Elizabeth Henstridge (agent Jemma Simmons) is an avid supporter of Smile Train’s effort to provide free, lifesaving surgeries for children with cleft. She reached out to her cast members to ask them to join in sharing what makes them smile to help raise awareness for the event.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous transformation and turmoil in the healthcare industry.
In 2020, hospitals, clinical care facilities, community-based organizations and the private sector have all shown remarkable efforts to rise to the challenge. The advancements of treatments, the acceleration of digital and telehealth technologies, public and private sector collaborations, and most of all the heroic efforts of those on the front lines have been at the foundation of the industry’s response to this unprecedented crisis.
It’s Monday morning and day seven of self-isolation. Your alarm goes off and you quickly hit snooze. You lie there and remember your HR department has told you to stick to the same routine you would if it was a normal workday. That suggestion is great, but not realistic.
Let’s be honest, it’s not a normal day – not even close. Your routine now involves figuring out how to use your coffee machine because Suzy from your local Starbucks won’t be able to make your favorite morning concoction. You now homeschool your children, take conference calls from your kitchen table and blare CNN in the background. You decided today is the day you will start one of the 20 different workout apps you downloaded over the weekend. You must be ready when someone tags you in the push-up challenge on Instagram. This is your new routine, and it’s hard.
