by John Domansky

Marketing and promoting a hospital or health system is not just a marketing department's responsibility these days--I believe that it is the responsibility (and obligation) of all of the employees. In other words, a "Village" is needed to market and promote the great things that are going on in hospitals on a daily basis.

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With the ongoing technology and Internet revolution, the tools that are available to market and promote hospitals are ever changing. Today social media (aka SoMe) is fast becoming part of our everyday world. SoMe tools are being adopted and implemented by hospitals and healthcare organizations at a very fast pace. Various healthcare organizations are using these tools to broadcast surgeries, promote events, healthy messages, news, and much more.

SoMe is being described as the Web 2.0--with the Internet evolving into a much more real-time environment. Web 1.0 was mainly structured around organizations, people and businesses having a website. Websites are typically very static, with infrequent updates and changes. They also are great tools for communicating the basic "who/what/where/when/why and how" answers. Still, websites also are somewhat archaic, and typically change infrequently, meaning they do not create much opportunity for community or relationship building.

SoMe Web 2.0 tools are very dynamic and real time--and provide an excellent opportunity to develop a community of followers--a "Village." People on Facebook can become a "fan" of hospitals, a "follower" on Twitter and a "subscriber" on YouTube and a blog. With hospitals participating in all of these tools, this is their opportunity to build an online community and create our their own engaged "Village."

John Domansky has worked in the field of healthcare financial management for nearly 25 years in various places across the country. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Knoxville Hospital & Clinics in Knoxville, Iowa--a rural, non-profit critical access hospital. John has a very broad background in both for-profit and non-profit hospitals.