Bill Klaproth Host): This is a special podcast produced on site at SHSMD Connections 2024 Annual Conference in Denver; as we talk with keynote speakers and session leaders direct from the show floor. We're also talking to SHSMD Rising Star awardees as well, which is very exciting.

I'm Bill Klaproth, and with me is Rachel Lott. She is the Chief Communications Officer at Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan. Rachel oversees marketing, development, and community outreach at Hillsdale, and we're going to talk about Rachel being a SHSMD Rising Star awardee, a recognition that highlights emerging leaders in our field.

Rachel, welcome.

Rachel Lott: Thank you so much for having me. That was a beautiful introduction.

Host: Oh, well, you deserve a beautiful introduction.

Rachel Lott: If you can just follow me around all day and just repeat that every time I meet somebody new, that'd be great.

Host: I am your new PR person. Anybody have any questions for Rachel? Yes, yes, you sir in background, yes. I'm happy to do that for you.

It's all good. So Rachel, can you share a bit about your journey into healthcare marketing and what led you to Hillsdale Hospital?

Rachel Lott: Yeah, so it's funny. I, the first time I joined the healthcare world was back in 2013. I worked for a critical access hospital that was part of an academic health system in Indiana. We had just moved to the Midwest from Texas, my husband and I, and I had never worked in healthcare before, and I was very intimidated but I just jumped in with both feet and went after it, and I had a kind of a patient experience, community outreach role that evolved into a marketing role.

Prior to that, I had worked in K-12 education and marketing and PR. And then I, we moved a little further north to northeast Indiana, and I worked for the Chamber and Economic Growth Council there for a couple years, and then had a great experience, did some great work, but burned out really fast, so moved into some consulting for a little while, and kind of slowed down, and then a friend of mine had posted on LinkedIn that she knew of a hospital in southern Michigan that was looking for a marketing person, and I was like, oh, well, that sounds interesting, let me kind of see what that's all about. And when I did the phone interview with my now boss, who's the CEO there, and he told me that they had just built a birthing center in 2013, they had a 10 bed psych unit, their hand hygiene compliance was 100%. I was like, you are lying to me. This is a, I thought this was an independent rural hospital. He's like, yes, it is.

And I was like, you're supposed to be closing your birthing center. You're not supposed to have a psych unit still. And also, that's amazing with the hand hygiene scores, right? So things like that, that really just stood out to me about Hillsdale. And I was like, I have to see what this place is all about. And so I went up for an interview and then that was in June of 2019. And here I am now five years later.

Host: I love it. And you're a rising star right now. I love it, five years later. I love it. Wow, that's a really interesting, varied background that led you into healthcare marketing. Really interesting.

Rachel Lott: Yeah, K-12 ed, community development and economic development and rural healthcare.

Host: Yeah, that's really cool. So what does the SHSMD Rising Star Award mean to you personally and professionally?

Rachel Lott: Oh, it's, I mean, I still am kind of absorbing it all. Even when I found out that I was selected, I just couldn't believe it. I was so shocked, but so grateful. And it really is kind of a career bucket list thing. It's certainly a milestone within my career that I'm very excited to be able to really represent what it can look like when we keep the patient at the forefront. When we jump into bigger issues like fighting for rural health in America, not just get patients in the door in our local community, and that's a lot of I think what's unique about the work that I do and the work that we do at Hillsdale is that we're not just focused on our own local hospital. We know that the sustainability of rural health in America is critical and we won't exist in the future if we don't support that effort too. So we've really worked hard to take a leadership role in that area as well.

Host: Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about some of that work. Can you share with us a campaign or initiative that you're specifically proud of?

Rachel Lott: Yeah, there's two. Let me just share briefly one because it relates to my answer on the previous question, and then I'll show you. So the first one is we started a podcast in 2020. I don't know what we were thinking in November of 2020, like we were going to start a podcast. If you hear the like, you know, first two or three takes of the first episode, we're like slap happy because it was just craziness during that time.

Yeah, yeah, but really, it's called Rural Health Rising, and it's all about the Healthcare Challenges, Successes, and Opportunities Facing Rural America. And we designed this to really be focused on bringing more attention within the industry, with legislators and elected officials, with anyone who has a stake in what's happening in rural America, healthcare is a part of that.

And so we wanted to be able to, from the perspective of a hospital that is in it and living it every day, bring different people in to have discussions with us about what's the experience like at their rural hospital. We've had people on from AHA, we've had congressmen, state supreme court justice, people from different companies that work in healthcare and really support healthcare organizations, really across the board, you name it. If it can be in any way tied to rural, we're having conversations about it on our podcast to really elevate and advance the cause of rural health in America.

Host: So, different stakeholders other than a consumer audience. You're not talking about healthcare topics.

Rachel Lott: Right. right. It's really an advocacy focus sort of project. And that kind of ties into the governmental affairs part of my current role. But then when it comes to more of a traditional, what we think of as a marketing campaign we, it was come, came time about six, eight months ago that it was like, we have got to do some more patient testimonial videos. It's been a while since we've done them. Very small team; it's me and my marketing coordinator, who is also my donor development coordinator.

So she's technically 0.5 FTE for marketing. But it was like we've got to do some patient testimonials and the last set we had done were good, but I just wanted a different feel and it had been a while since we'd done them. But I was also trying to think how do I make sure that when this testimonial video plays, that it's a Hillsdale Hospital testimonial video, you couldn't just slap another logo on it and have no idea, you know. And so, the other thing I was thinking about was how do we use the patient testimonial videos to also really highlight and uplift our staff and our team because they do such great work and I want to tell the patient's story, but I want to also make sure that this is something that when our staff watch this, it's going to connect to their heart and to the work that they do as well and really elevate them.

And so I thought, well, wouldn't it be fun if we include the staff in the patient testimony and we interview them, too, instead of just the patient? And then I thought, you know, it would be even more fun if the patient crashes the interview with the staff member, whether it is a physician or a nurse or someone from admitting, whoever that was that had a pivotal impact on that experience in particular. Let's have them do an interview, but they're not going to know the patient is coming and then the patient can thank them on camera. And so we had this idea and so I went to my coordinator. I'm like, okay, this is how we're going to do it. She's like, I love that. You should be the first one. And I was like, say that again?

Because I'm very used to being a spokesperson for the hospital. I talk all the time on our podcast. We do a 10 minute radio segment that is in the community on the local station every Friday. So I'm very used to that, but being the patient just feels very different because I'm thinking, okay, I'm the marketing person.

So, now people are going to be like, oh, she put herself in a patient testimonial video, you know? But, my coordinator said that, then my OB also sent me an email, totally unrelated and had no idea what we were doing, and she was like, hey, you should do a testimonial on your experience. And I was like, okay, because I had my younger son, who just turned one, a couple days ago, at our hospital, and I had a severe hemorrhage, and they saved my life.

And so, it was pretty cool to be able to take what I am really proud of, that thought process and that idea of really highlighting the staff, here's a way we can do it, connect the staff and the patient together again, but in a way that really helps the staff have that meaning and tie that to their work. And so we did, and we actually ended up publishing it just a couple days ago on my son's first birthday. Which was pretty cool, and it's got great feedback, but what really means the most to me is seeing my OB, Dr. Odell, comment on that and saying, you know, your story alone is what makes it worth it.

And seeing that it did have the impact I wanted it to have on her as the caregiver part of the video. And then also the nurses and the other people who were part of the team commenting and saying, Oh my gosh, I remember that. It was so, I remember giving Tommy his first bath, you know, things like that, that really just, I was like, okay, we did it.

That was the goal was to share the story, but to uplift the staff in the process. And it happened.

Host: Wow. I'm glad they saved your life. That's good. That's a great story, though, and I love how you put yourself into it there, put yourself out there.

Rachel Lott: Yeah, reluctantly, but I'm glad. And I also, now realize how cathartic and how healing that can be for the patient because I was the patient in the story whereas usually I'm on the other side of the camera talking to the patient about it and so it just gives me a different you know perspective and understanding of we're asking the patient to really give us a gift by sharing their story but I'm realizing how important that can be to them as well.

Host: Yeah, that's a really interesting story and an interesting viewpoint. You have a different perspective now kind of being on both sides. Yeah, really cool. So let's talk a little bit more about rural healthcare marketing. How do you see the future of rural healthcare evolving, especially in terms of communication strategies?

Rachel Lott: Yeah, so I think what is really critical in rural communities is for the community to place the trust in their local hospital. The local hospital, of course, has to earn that trust, but when patients choose to use their local hospital, they're ensuring that that hospital is going to be there for, in Hillsdale, for example, another 107 years when they choose Hillsdale first.

We, our current kind of campaign is Hillsdale Strong, which was part of the pandemic, and then the continuation of that with our next campaign was Hillsdale Strong, Hillsdale First.

But when you're in a rural community, the marketing and communications really needs to be tied around that relationship that the patients have with the hospital being the team, the staff, we're often caring for our neighbors, our family, our friends, people that we know and have a relationship with already, but we need them to trust us, so we have to earn that trust, but we also have to reinforce that with the marketing that we do.

And something we kind of accidentally ended up doing that has, I think, been very successful is we ended up sort of creating this parasocial relationship between our leadership and the community, because during the pandemic, we had so many people at the very beginning in March of 2020 that were like, what is going on? We don't understand.

There's misinformation all over Facebook and people are confused and like, what does this mean? What's even happening in Hillsdale? So we did a Facebook Live that was just going to be a Q& A. I, I moderated it, and then we had our infection control officer and then one of the nurses from the health department. And we did this live and it had like over 10,000 views, 10,000 people watching it. And we were like, oh, okay, so clearly this is needed, people need this information, so we continued doing it, and we were just continuing to get great viewership on those, and so at one point we were doing like three a week during the pandemic, which was, now I think back, I don't even know how we did that, but we did but in doing that, JJ and I, my CEO, we were hosting those.

And sometimes we would have someone clinical come in or someone from a different part of the hospital come in. But in those days, it was a lot about just like a kind of updating and going through what's going on right now. And we didn't have the time to be super polished or super prepared. So it was very conversational.

It was very relaxed. We were just like, okay, I pulled the data. Here's my sheet that I just pulled, you know, five minutes ago. Let's walk in, turn the camera on and here we go. We're talking to the community. So, maybe not necessarily that particular tactic, but to think about how do you help your community feel that affinity for your organization?

Because when I started at Hillsdale in 2019, we saw a lot of the social media comments negative toward the hospital. And today when we see those, we typically see 10 or 15 in response defending us that are not our staff, it's our patients. And that really, I think, is a great litmus test to show we've turned the relationship around that the community had with the hospital. And when you have your patients, not just telling their story and their experience, but advocating for you and defending you and being in your corner, that's the ultimate relationship you can have with your community when you're in a rural area.

Host: Yeah, so, as you say, when you have your patients advocating for you, that's the best testimonial you can have.

Yeah. And I love the Facebook Live in the middle of the pandemic. People, because there was a lot of misinformation, disinformation, so, you, by doing that, saying, hey, you can trust this. You're hearing it from a trusted source, loca hospital, these are experts. Listen to them.

Rachel Lott: Right. right. And also, these are the numbers here, these are how many positives we have right now, this is how many people are in the hospital. We were able to help people understand what's the magnitude in their local community now so that they can make decisions for themselves and their family based on local information.

Host: Right. So let me ask you this, going back to the awardee, how has SHSMD, we're at SHSMD Connections 2024 here in Denver, how has SHSMD been pivotal or instrumental in your career development?

Rachel Lott: Yeah, so, I started at Hillsdale in June of 2019. And then, just a couple months later, I went to my first SHSMD Connections conference which was great, and I loved it, and I learned so much. Actually, I did one of the pre conference sessions for healthcare marketing plans that work. Highly recommend it's still available in one way or another through SHSMD.

But um, one of the speakers there was Suzanne Hendry, who is with Renown Health, and she's also on the board of SHSMD. And so I, you know, learned from her in that session and then when I got back to Hillsdale a couple months later, I called her out of the blue and I said, Hey, so I was in that session you did and we are looking at doing a rebrand and you talked about your experience doing a rebrand at Renown. Can you come and talk to us? I'm going to do a branding summit with our management team. Can you come kind of be our keynote speaker for that? And she was like, Oh, I would love to. And I was like, You would? Okay, great. And so she, through that process, became a mentor of mine over the last five years. So that one connection has made a huge difference but being part of the By the Numbers Steering Committee for the benchmarking survey that we do with SHSMD has been a great experience, especially for the small rurals.

We need more and more participation with that so we have better and better data to benchmark against and more organizations that are even closer to us to be able to look at that data. That has been the reason I was able to increase the FTEs in my department from one, being myself to two but also, I've been able to increase our marketing budget by 83 percent over five years and having that data to back up, like, hey, we're not spending enough here, or we need to be able to do X, Y, Z to remain competitive, this is what it's going to cost, if we look at what other people are spending, this is not out of the norm or unreasonable, so it made it easier for me to advocate for those changes that we needed to be able to be as successful as we could.

Host: Yeah, and I like how you said that connection was really important to you. One connection really can make a huge difference.

Rachel Lott: Oh, absolutely. yes. Yes. I was just texting her last night, so she wasn't able to make it here because she's working on Baxter, uh, fluid shortage stuff out there, but yeah, she's amazing.

Host: Well that's the value of conferences like this. The people that you meet, and you can network with, and you can find mentors.

Rachel Lott: Right.

Host: Eventually, you'll be mentoring somebody as well.

Rachel Lott: And in rural, you sometimes feel like you're on an island a little bit, and there's no one else, or there's maybe one or two other people in your organization that do anything close to what you do.

So you can feel kind of alone sometimes in your work, just when you get very specific to the work you're doing. So to build those relationships with marketing professionals across the country, you have people you can text or you can call and say, Hey, what are you guys doing with this? And how did you handle it?

Cause we're coming up on that and I'm kind of at a loss, you know? So you have those relationships and just the moral support of knowing other people that are in it and doing what you're doing.

Host: Right.

Rachel Lott: That you can be connected to.

Host: Yeah, so what advice would you have for up and coming healthcare marketers? How can they become a SHSMD Rising Star Award winner?

Rachel Lott: Yeah, I would say within your organization, be bold and don't be afraid to ask questions. Some of the best conversations and eventual projects or strategies that I have been a part of have been because I am too curious for my own good sometimes, but I'm never afraid to ask questions in meetings even if it sounds like it's something to everyone else, it's like, oh, well, yeah. We totally know what this is and it's not, they have no curiosity about it because they're used to it and they do it all the time. I'm the one that's like, wait, why do we have to do that? Can't we do this instead? And that has really had a big impact on the work we've done operationally as an organization, but also from a marketing and communications perspective, how we're talking about the work that we're doing with our patients and community.

Host: I love that. So be bold and ask questions.

Rachel Lott: Yes. Yeah.

Host: That's great advice.

Rachel Lott: And then within the industry, participate in SHSMD, find a mentor, there's a mentorship program with SHSMD, and come to Connections. I actually, this is my first one coming back since 2019, between pandemic and having babies and all kinds of things, I'm back and not just participating online, so.

Host: Yeah, well that's great advice. So thank you so much for stopping by our podcast booth today, Rachel. We appreciate it. Thank you again.

Rachel Lott: Thank you so much for having me.

Host: You bet. Once again, that is Rachel Lott, and we hope you enjoyed SHSMD Connections 2024. If you were unable to attend, you can access the presentation recordings at SHSMD.com. And if you found this podcast helpful, and come on, how could you not; please share it on your social channels and please subscribe so you get every episode chock full of great healthcare marketers like Rachel, topics and solutions as well. And to access that podcast library, visit SHSMD.org/podcasts. Thanks for listening.