by Elizabeth Schwartz | Nov 24, 2021 | Blog
When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a pediatrician. And a writer. I had no idea as an idealistic young lady that there wasn’t really a career that combined the two disciplines.
And when I learned how long I had to go to school to be a pediatrician, I leaned in a little more on the writing.
It wasn’t until I had leaned way into writing and four years of Journalism school that I got my first job at a multi-hospital research health system. I learned quickly that I could combine my three passions—helping people, healthcare and writing. I was not the one performing the lifesaving transplants, but through my writing I got to share the stories of two sisters who shared a lifesaving kidney transplant and encourage others to be organ donors. It was a great fit. I thought of it as writing. I had learned in Journalism school how to write a lead, a body and a close. I never thought of what I did as storytelling.
Then, as if it couldn’t get any better, I got a job as a writer at a pediatric hospital. I met awe-inspiring families struggling through unimaginable heartache but taking me along and allowing me into their lives to tell their story and show how they battled adversity with strength, bravery and grace.
I got to see the loving way nurses and doctors approached children and their families. I got to see the way parents looked bravely at their children and told them it was going to be OK even when they weren’t sure. I was humbled and grateful for each and every family. I remember thinking that I was so glad to be able to tell their stories but could never imagine being in their shoes. I had found my place: healthcare and writing. But then something happened that changed my perspective completely.
The Tide Turned
About two years into my job, I had children. My son and daughter are 18 months apart in age. When my daughter was six months old, she began to have seizures. We spent weeks in the hospital trying to find the root cause—from a brain tumor to epilepsy—what we found was that she had a stroke at birth and had cerebral palsy. When my son was two, he was diagnosed with autism. What had been unimaginable to me about the lives of those parents had become my life. We spent many days and nights with doctors, nurses, therapists—my colleagues—and now my child’s caregiver. I was the one of the parents that I had been writing about.
Why It Matters
My children have been a consistent source of joy and inspiration to me. I know that doesn’t make me unique as a parent, but when they were young, we journeyed through a lot together in ways I never thought I would experience. All the times I wrote those patient stories, I never knew one day it would be me.
I’m happy to report they are both thriving, active teenagers now. What I learned is that in some way for all of us, healthcare is personal. Whether it’s an aging parent, your own health challenges, or a child, when we walk through our healthcare system as a patient or a caregiver of a patient, it changes us.
For me, it changed the way I write. It changed the way I tell the story of the latest innovation in EHRs. It changed the way I appreciate the passion and selfless care that every single position in the healthcare ecosystem puts into what they do.
I think it’s easy as PR and Marketing professionals to get robotic and apathetic in the way that we amplify a brand or write a blog. What we should remember is that at the end of that journey is a real person with a real story. And you never know when that might be you. Write with your heart. Bring your own story in the passion you have for what you do. It will never steer you wrong.
by Jodi Amendola | Oct 27, 2021 | Blog
At the time, I did not realize we were so innovative. When I founded the agency in 2003, it was clear to me that with the Internet, email, phones, and the nature of our public relations and marketing communication services, not everyone needed to be in the same office all the time. I also recognized that I could more easily attract and retain the best talent for our agency – whether they were in California, Texas, Massachusetts or North Carolina – by not forcing them to relocate to our office in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In 2021, our agency looks prescient considering most of my staff have always worked from their homes. In reality, at the time, I was just doing what was best for my business. To this day, though, employee after employee tells me that the choice to work from home, not uprooting their families and starting a new life in a new town, was a major attractive feature in joining our agency.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues throughout most of the country—and survey after survey show how much employees prefer to work from home—some employers are considering that they may need to loosen their policies to allow more team members to work from home. Although it might make it harder for our agency to compete for talent, I would encourage you to do it. Here’s how to make work from home work for your company:
- Set Clear Expectations
Like all businesses, our agency runs on deadlines. Whether it is an article, press release, white paper or PR plan, having clear, accountable deadlines ensures that the distractions of working from home do not detract from productivity.
Another expectation we have is accessibility and responsiveness. We offer flexible schedules as long as the work gets done and clients are happy, but when a member of our team says they will be in their office, we expect that they will indeed be available either by email, phone or for web meetings. That availability is important for internal communication, but it is even more crucial to better serve our clients. Being available and responsive to them must always be the top priority during work hours.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate
Although many companies use Slack and other business communication platforms, our team has still found email to be the most effective and easiest way to stay in touch with each other on a daily basis. Of course, we have plenty of phone calls and web conferences, but the bulk of our daily communication runs on email.
Once again, if one of our clients wants to use a business communication platform, our account teams happily use that method. The key is the consistency of communication and setting the expectation of a prompt response during a team member’s regular schedule.
3. Show Me the Schedule
Our account teams do a lot of writing, editing, and strategic planning, which is much easier without the distractions and interruptions of email and meetings. We also do not want to disrupt any of their client meetings with our internal questions or calls.
For these reasons and others, our account teams make their schedules public so their managers and colleagues can visualize their availability. Other than client meetings, our teams also make sure to block time in their schedule for writing, editing or creating a presentation. Blocking a schedule sends a message like an office door being open or closed. As a colleague, you know what it means when you see it.
4. Company-Wide Meetings Are a Must
Although the actual time seems to constantly change, our agency still meets regularly on a web conference to talk about agency updates, share success stories and best practices and even feature guest speakers. To keep it fun, we compile positive feedback that team members have received from clients or colleagues and share them. We also have a drawing where a positive comment is drawn at random and the person receiving the compliment wins a gift card. We call it our “kudos” drawing and it is always an uplifting way to close a meeting.
5. Check-in Regularly
Every six months, we have a formal check-in where a manager will talk with a team member about their work, accomplishments, challenges and solicit feedback to find out how we can improve as an agency. Since we are still relatively a small company with 25 team members, I also still check in with people I haven’t spoken to in a while on a more personal level to see how they are feeling about work, their life and if we can support them in any way. Since we can’t have impromptu “water cooler” or coffee machine moments, these random check-ins help nurture a sense of closeness and camaraderie that is difficult to cultivate when we don’t see each other in person as often.
A bonus tip: If your work-from-home team feels comfortable traveling, have a company-wide retreat either once a year or every couple of years, depending on your company’s size and budget. It is always rewarding when we can get together in a fun location, enjoy meals and learn from each other. The fact that we so rarely get to see each other in person makes the retreats especially meaningful for our team.
So whether you plan to bring all, some or none of the team back to the office once the pandemic is under control, I recommend instituting an option to work from home, if it is feasible for your company. Our teams appreciate the perk and show it to us every day in their high quality of work and client service.
by Jack O'Brien | Oct 13, 2021 | Blog
Career changes are rarely easy, especially when you study a field throughout college and subsequently work in it following graduation.
In August, I left a respected healthcare trade journal after nearly four years and ‘crossed over to the dark side,’ as they say.
There were several professional motivations behind the move, but one that excited me about joining the world of public relations (PR) was that I had already worked with numerous agencies during my time on the editorial side.
As I’ve settled into my new role, I wanted to share four observations on the PR strategies that I found most effective while in my capacity as a journalist.
1. Understand who you’re pitching to
Every PR representative should take time to do their research on the journalists and outlets that they’re pitching.
In my time at the magazine, I primarily covered healthcare finance, policy, and revenue cycle, among a handful of other industry-related topics. Still, I received countless emails from aimless PR representatives pitching me everything from CBD oils to a historian for the band Aerosmith. (Yes, this actually happened.)
Even those that understood I covered the healthcare industry for an audience of payer and provider executives would occasionally float article ideas and interview opportunities that simply missed the mark.
If you’re looking to place a byline or secure earned media with an interview opportunity, make sure you know who you’re speaking with and why it’s worth their while. I always found myself most responsive to PR representatives who weren’t just looking for free publicity but could see down the field about how the interaction would lead to a greater result for both sides.
2. Get to the point (and have other options available)
The only thing worse than getting a random PR pitch that’s off-topic is being forced to read several paragraphs to find out it’s irrelevant.
Short, timely pitches are always winners. The pitch should tell me what the topic is, who can speak to it, and when they’re available.
Additionally, a pitch should offer flexibility for both the PR agency and the outlet. If you’re pitching a potential source as an expert on revenue cycle management but they can also speak to the price transparency regulations and the effects on provider organizations, mention that in your email.
You should be providing as many onramps as possible for a client to appear in a story.
3. Relay expectations to your client
Understandably, most clients probably don’t fully understand how the world of PR and media works. That’s fine, but you have to be the one who explains the dynamics at play so they’re not disappointed by outcomes that don’t match their expectations.
Not every interview is going on the front page of The New York Times, but every speaking engagement, written Q&A, or byline adds up to meaningful coverage.
Additionally, media training to refresh even the most charismatic leaders should be the standard. During interviews I conducted as a journalist, I learned quickly which PR contacts had adequately gone over their notes with my subjects ahead of time and which ones threw them headfirst into the fire.
Don’t leave your clients treading water; let them know what the opportunity is about, why they’re qualified to speak on the subject, and prepare them for any extraneous questions.
4. Create a conversation
Some of the most reliable PR contacts from my journalism days were people who didn’t just pitch me and disappear into the night.
They stuck around and actually engaged with me as normal people do. Whether this was sending the occasional email to see what stories I was working on, interacting with each other on social media, or reading my content, it kept them in my purview as I went about my job.
Additionally, whenever I had a story to write on a tight deadline, I knew I could reach out to these reliable PR contacts and get the appropriate sources on the line.
This doesn’t mean that you have to be chummy with every journalist you come across, (odds are they aren’t always going to chummy in response), but breaking down the at-times acrimonious barrier between church and state can be helpful.
I hope that these tips based on my understanding of how media outlets operate can provide the world of PR with some useful tips to be more effective in the work we do.
by admin | Sep 28, 2021 | News
Award-winning healthcare IT PR agency and innovative healthcare data quality platform provider partner to amplify client’s thought leadership, technology offerings
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 28, 2021 – Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and technology public relations and marketing firm, announced that it is re-engaging with former client 4medica®, a leader in healthcare data quality and patient matching technology, to amplify client successes and thought leadership.
4medica had previously engaged Amendola as its agency of record and is now back for its third engagement. 4medica provides real-time clinical data management and healthcare interoperability software and services that offer clinicians and patients a unified view of clinical information across disparate care locations. 4medica’s mission can be summed up in its corporate tagline: “One Patient…One Record.”
“Our previous successful experience working with Amendola made re-engagement an easy decision,” said Gregg Church, president of 4medica. “The Amendola team thoroughly understands 4medica’s technology and business model and how it benefits patients, provider organizations, laboratories, health information exchanges and health plans. They are the ideal partner to communicate the value we offer to our target audience and healthcare media.”
Amendola is implementing a comprehensive media and communications plan for 4medica that will showcasethe company’s thought leadership, current technology and services, new offerings, accomplishments, customer wins, and industry partnerships.
“4medica has a long commitment to improving data quality for clinicians, patients, health information exchanges and health plans,” said agency CEO Jodi Amendola. “And, now more than ever there is a crucial need for quality data in healthcare. We are excited to once again be working with Dr. Bess, Gregg and their team on public relations and marketing initiatives to get the word out about 4medica’s healthcare data quality solutions.”
4medica is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About Amendola Communications
Amendola is an award-winning, insights-driven public relations and marketing firm that integrates media relations, social media, content and lead gen programs to move healthcare, life sciences/pharma and healthcare IT decision-makers to action. The agency represents some of the industry’s best-known brands as well as groundbreaking startups that are disrupting the status quo. Nearly 90% of its client base represents multi-year clients and/or repeat client executives. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros understand the ongoing complexities of the healthcare ecosystem and provide strategic guidance and creative direction to drive positive ROI, boost reputation and increase market share. Making an impact since 2003, Amendola combines traditional and digital media to fuel meaningful and measurable growth. For more information about the industry’s “A-Team,” visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About 4medica
For more than two decades, 4medica® solves data integrity, financial and wellness management challenges to achieve true clinical interoperability and transparency. 4medica’s Perfect Order for Perfect Payment™ integrates end-to-end high-volume revenue cycle management services. Our Big Data Management and Clinical Data Exchange cloud solutions facilitate patient identity management and data exchange to ensure the right data is captured at the right time, the first time, guaranteeing an unprecedented 1% patient record duplication rate. 4medica has processed up to 6 billion clinical results representing more than 70 million patient identities. The company connects 40,000-plus physicians to hundreds of ACOs, HIEs, HINs, hospitals, health systems, laboratories, radiology imaging centers and payers nationwide.
Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications, mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com
by admin | Aug 17, 2021 | News
Award-winning healthcare IT PR agency and fast-growing decentralized clinical trial (DCT) technology company align to advance the future of global healthcare research
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., August 17, 2021 – Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and technology public relations and marketing firm, announced today that Curebase, a company committed to democratizing access to clinical studies, has selected the agency to launch a comprehensive media and communications program highlighting its innovative Decentralized Clinical Trial (DCT) software platform and work to make clinical trials not only more patient-centric but also faster and more cost-effective. The decision comes after an extensive review of other national agencies.
Curebase is engineering a new approach to the entire clinical trial process with a unique DCT model that revolves around the patient’s lifestyle, enabling diverse studies with broader patient populations. The Curebase platform allows sponsors, CROs and physicians to conduct first-of-their kind study designs in which patients participate both at home and in real-world settings with best-in-class software experiences.
“We are excited to leverage Amendola, which brings a stealthy team, strategic healthcare IT expertise, and a long history of proven wins,” said Tom Lemberg, founder and CEO of Curebase. “We are proud to have helped many companies rapidly complete their clinical research, including those who achieved emergency use authorization during the pandemic. Our vision is to make clinical research an option for all patients, regardless of their care setting, and we are certain the Amendola team will be terrific partners in these efforts.”
“We look forward to the opportunity to help bring Curebase’s vision for a democratized clinical research industry to life,” said agency CEO Jodi Amendola. “They are a fast-rising powerhouse in the DCT space—developing innovative approaches for their clients and redefining how the world executes healthcare research. Curebase is building a future that includes better diversity, quicker enrollment, and improved patient satisfaction for all clinical trials.”
To learn more about Amendola, visit www.acmarketingpr.com. To learn more about Curebase, visit www.curebase.com.
About Amendola
Amendola is an award-winning, insights-driven public relations and marketing firm that integrates media relations, social media, content and lead gen programs to move healthcare, life sciences/pharma and healthcare IT decision-makers to action. The agency represents some of the industry’s best-known brands as well as groundbreaking startups that are disrupting the status quo. Nearly 90% of its client base represents multi-year clients and/or repeat client executives. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros understand the ongoing complexities of the healthcare ecosystem and provide strategic guidance and creative direction to drive positive ROI, boost reputation and increase market share. Making an impact since 2003, Amendola combines traditional and digital media to fuel meaningful and measurable growth. For more information about the industry’s “A-Team,” visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Curebase
At Curebase, our mission is to bring quality medical innovations to patients faster and improve human wellbeing through more efficient clinical studies. We are proving that clinical research can be radically accelerated if we empower physicians everywhere to enroll patients in the communities where they live. By applying cutting edge clinical software and remote study management techniques to the problem, we are reinventing clinical trials and research from the ground up. For more information, please visit www.curebase.com.
Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes, mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com
