Swanson Russell

We all know that February is national Heart Month. Did your hospital use this designation as an opportunity to talk to the marketplace about the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of heart disease? Good for you. But how many of the other monthly health observances throughout the year do you use to drive your marketing messages? I'm a big fan of these designations. My reasoning is that we need a national movement towards health and wellness, and Americans love to rally around an event, even an artificially created one. The retail sector is masterful at this. (President's Day Sale, anyone?) Take a cue from the tricks of retailers and use monthly health designations to give your hospital a reason to talk to the marketplace on everything from colorectal cancer (March) to high blood pressure (May) to diabetes (November). You can find a complete listing at healthfinder.gov or at shsmd.org.