Media Outreach Ideas on Quality
Topic and Story Ideas that your hospital can pitch related to quality:
Below are several topics your hospital may consider pitching to your local media as part of our statewide effort to raise awareness of the quality efforts Florida’s hospitals have undertaken to save lives, reduce harm and improve care.
- For those involved in FHA-HRETHospital Engagement Network (HEN): How being involved in the FHA-HRET HEN has improved quality at your hospital. What specific measures is your hospital participating in and what are the results? Share results and offer an interview with your quality executive. For example:
- Offer an interview with a new mom who previously was unaware of the reasons to carry a baby to at least 39 weeks. Discuss the impact of early elective deliveries campaign to reduce births prior to 39 weeks.
- Pitch the ways your hospital is reducing readmissions, such as follow up phone calls to patients, partnering/increased communications with skilled nursing facilities and other means.
- Pitch the specific actions your hospital has taken to reduce infections or other complications, especially highlight if you have a visible example such as using a “huddle” board within units to list the important patient safety issues that should be addressed in the daily huddle.
- For those involved in the Florida Surgical Care Initiative (FSCI): What initiatives your hospital has implemented as an FSCI hospital. Share quantitative results and offer an interview with a surgery executive.
- Radio interview with hospital CEO discussing how hospitals are responding to health reform, including the growing focus on quality. What your hospital is doing to improve care, while reducing costs.
- Inspiring story – pitch story of a physician, nurse or other hospital staff member that has gone above and beyond in improving care for patients
- Unique patient story –does your hospital have a unique patient, who overcame a complication, took steps to prevent a readmission, was especially helped by your hospital (for instance, had trouble understanding medication and hospital staff helped)?
- Leverage the Florida Hospital Association’s 5 Years of Quality report to highlight what your hospital is doing to improve quality - describe patient safety/quality programs at your hospital. Share quantitative results and offer an interview with the director of the programs and patient safety advocates working for the hospital to get a patient voice involved.