Celebrating a milestone such as a 100 year anniversary can be a prime opportunity to tell your hospital’s story and build patient loyalty. 

If hospital walls could talk there would be incredible tales of hope, heartbreak and uplifting care.  And when your hospital reaches a milestone, be it 25, 50 or 100 years in existence, it’s a strong testament of success.

Many hospitals have interesting pasts that invoke a sense of community pride.  Gadsden Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Alabama is one such example.

In 1906  Dr. Rawls started the city’s first hospital in a home.  By the 1950’s, the hospital was owned by the county’s Baptist Association and through their leadership and with major help from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, a new hospital was built on land donated by Goodyear, a major employer in the area. The construction was funded in large part by payroll deductions of the Goodyear plant workers.

The rich and storied past provided a great opportunity to retell that history and highlight the hospital’s many accomplishments.

Things to consider for your hospitals special milestone:

1. Community-wide events such as picnics, parties for people born at the hospital, galas for the physicians and major donors, dedications of new wings or the donation of a commemorative sculpture to honor the past.
2. Erect a timetable display reveling major milestones of the hospital’s history in the lobby, cafeteria or other public areas.
3. Develop a media campaign to tell the history in a compelling way.
4. Design, print and mail a detailed history piece to the hospital’s market area or patient data base.
5. Have clever, medical-related specialty items to give away at public events. Pill boxes, thermometers, first aid kits, water bottles, baby medicine dispensers are all good examples.
6. Plan radio and tv show appearances to promote all the upcoming events.
7. Use facebook and twitter to promote events in each phase of the celebration.
8. Produce a short video on the history and celebration to post on youtube, use at speaking engagements and feature on the hospital’s website.

Seize the opportunity and make the most of these markers in time and continue to build patient loyalty.  It’s a wonderful way to sell your hospital to newcomers to the area as well as reinforce the brand to your community.