The Children's Hospital Work Values

Daily Duties at The Children's Hospital:

Lead eight-person public relations team for The Children’s Hospital, a 300-bed pediatric facility and 14 network-of-care locations throughout the region. Responsibilities include developing, deploying and managing organizational communications and establishing and growing local, regional and national media relations. Corporate communications highlights include developing and implementing new standards of communication within the organization. This effort has involved developing new and targeted delivery mechanisms, quality and content standards and leadership roles and responsibilities. Based on national internal communications survey data, we have positioned managers as the key information sources for their areas of responsibility. To support this role, I developed and implemented an internal communications training curriculum for supervisors. Internal communications staff surveys document reduction in the estimated time staff devote to “fixing” poor communications by six percent, and quarterly staff surveys demonstrate an across-the-board understanding by leadership of their role as lead information sources for their areas of responsibility. The organization’s monthly staff newsletter has won numerous awards. Media relations highlights include establishing, maintaining and growing the hospital’s media coverage leadership position among regional healthcare organizations. Our most recent media audits place The Children’s Hospital at the forefront of coverage in both print and broadcast media with a 32 percent increase in positive media placements in 2007, and a 14 percent increase in 2008. In addition, the hospital routinely garners positive national coverage in national outlets such as U.S. News and World Report, The Los Angeles Times and New York Times, NBC Nightly News, Wall Street Journal, Modern Healthcare and many others. “Moving a Hospital” highlights: I chaired the organization’s communications committee charged with informing and engaging key internal and external stakeholders regarding the unprecedented move to the hospital’s new, replacement facility in Aurora, Colo. in Sept. of ’07. I led the development of the organization’s public relations strategic plan (internal communications and media relations) in support of all transition activities, culminating in the Sept. move to the new facility. During the inpatient transfer to the new hospital, I served as the organization’s public information officer responsible for coordinating and overseeing all internal and external communications related to patient transfer activities. I provide guidance to all CEO and senior leadership communications initiatives, arrange and manage relevant agency and contract services, and am accountable for all human resources-related responsibilities in my department.

What they like about The Children's Hospital:

The social vibrance of a hiring firm is very important to you. Your ability to make and maintain friendships there is a critical part of your decision. You would likely be dissatisfied with a workplace that is quiet, cold, or otherwise not particularly social. When you investigate a new hiring company, ask recruiters, managers, and potential co-workers about the social life and opportunities there. This is especially important when you are relocating; moving dramatically alters your social sphere both inside and outside the workplace.

Tags

social media, crisis communications, internal communications, earned media, newspaper columnist, media sponsorships

Skills

Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

These are some of the questions we asked our climbers about their experiences with The Children's Hospital: