The Campaign to Save the Health & Livelihood
of Northeast Connecticut
A David Meets Goliath Story and Winner of the 2016 NESHCo Lamplighter Award
Sara Brandon
System Director, Marketing Communications, Care New England
Formerly Vice President, Marketing Communications, Day Kimball Healthcare
Laura Dunn
Director of Marketing and Communications, Day Kimball Healthcare

The Team
Laura Dunn | @QuillAndCursor
Laura is the director of marketing and communications for Day
Kimball Healthcare, responsible for all aspects of the nonprofit
community healthcare system's integrated marketing
communications efforts.
With a foundation in journalism and more than 15 years of broad
marcomm experience in a variety of industries, Laura has dedicated
her career to crafting communications that make a difference.
Prior to DKH she was manager of development and communications
for a behavioral health agency, had a consultancy serving the
nonprofit, higher education and small business sectors, and even
worked at a literal zoo, as public relations manager for Roger
Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI.
Sara Brandon | @BeingSaraLB
Sara's career path in marketing communications has included stops
at a 60-unit coffee shop chain in Connecticut, Massachusetts and
Rhode Island crafting and managing retail promotions that
wouldn't slow down the drive-thru; a small agency outside of
Philadelphia building visitor traffic for the zoo, selling real estate
during the boom and putting people in jobs; running her own
communications firm as strategist, writer, designer and chief-cook-
and-bottle-washer; a 14-year stint at RDW Group, one of the
largest communications firms in New England, where she
developed a passion for health care leading accounts for health
systems, physician groups, worksite wellness organizations and
insurance companies.
She spent three years (and four years prior through RDW Group) at
Day Kimball Healthcare as vice president repositioning the 120-
year-old hospital as a premier, integrated health network for
Northeast Connecticut.
Sara recently celebrated her one year anniversary at Care New
England as System Director Marketing Communications. When
asked what she does she says, "Fixing health care, doing art and
practicing yoga."

Overview | DKH and NECT
Northeast Connecticut (NECT)
 13 towns, 450 square miles
 Rural, economically disadvantaged area
 High Medicaid population
 High incidence of chronic conditions
 Limited public transportation
Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH)
 Nonprofit, independent community healthcare system
founded in 1894
 NECT’s premier provider of integrated healthcare services,
serving 72,000 of 93,000 residents, comprised of:
 Day Kimball Hospital
 Day Kimball Medical Group
 Day Kimball HomeCare
 Day Kimball HomeMakers
 Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut
 Region’s largest employer, generating $230 million in
annual economic impact

Overview | Hospital Funding in CT
Graph courtesy of Connecticut Hospital Association
CT’s Hospital tax
 Established in 2012 as a means
to maximize federal Medicaid
reimbursement
 Through the hospital
supplemental payment, state
was to return the hospital tax
funds in full, plus a portion of
the federal matching funds
(the state would keep a
portion of the general fund as
well)
 Each year, the hospital tax has
gone up while the
supplemental payments have
gone down

The Challenge
In 2015, Connecticut hospitals faced
unprecedented cuts to state funding -
twice
Potentially devastating effect on Day Kimball’s
operations and services and by extension
NECT’s access to healthcare and its economy
Day Kimball was experiencing additional
challenges related to:
• Multi-year struggling finances
• Recent integration of medical group
• Due diligence affiliation process underway

Strategy
Elevate Day Kimball’s unique situation as a small hospital without
competing with the overall challenges CT hospitals are facing.
Coordinate with Connecticut Hospital Association’s campaign to
maximize effectiveness.
Arm local legislative team with information
and tools to gain attention of Governor and
fellow state representatives.
Maximize Day Kimball’s deep connection
with the community.

Tactical Plan
Grassroots public affairs campaign:
• Public pledge/petition drive
• Legislative advocacy
• Earned media
• Social media
• Advertising
• Customize CHA Voter Voice tool with DKH message and remain
integrated with statewide campaign

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
February, 2015
• CT Governor Dannel Malloy releases his
proposed 2016-17 biennium budget which
includes:
• reductions in uncompensated care payouts
• a nearly 50% increase in the hospital tax
• elimination of supplemental payments
Originally implemented to return the hospitals’
taxes along with a portion of federal matching
funds
• elimination of the small hospital fund
Provided critical additional funding to community
hospitals, including DKH.
• In total, DKH faced $12 million in lost
revenue over its next two fiscal years

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
Build on existing messages
• New Day is our story platform for education
on how health care is changing and
announcements about changes at Day Kimball
• Your New Day is our e-newsletter distributed
to 16,000+ community members and 1400+
employees

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
I AM NEW DAY
The Pledge is the glue to the campaign.
• Engage collective community
ownership to effect change
• Educate about Day Kimball’s value
to community
• Address impact of state budget cut
proposals on community
• Mechanism to catch the attention of
Governor and Legislators
Created in multiple formats
• Pads for events and DKH locations
• Clip and mail print ad
• Online CHA Voter’s Voice
• Print from web
• Dry erase posters

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We went in local press…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We went to the State House
with CHA…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We repurposed existing content…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We went on the road…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We went on the air...

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We shared on social…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We worked with local media
and the community worked
for us…

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We included our legislators on our team.
• Press event, May 14
• More than 2,500 people pledged

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We created buzz.

Campaign Phase 1 | April - July
We were rewarded.
June 29, 2016

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
Back at Square One
September 18, 2015:
Governor Malloy announces $103 million in
emergency budget cuts
• $63.4 million in rescissions to hospitals - 100% of
hospital funding
• For DKH, a total loss of $5.6 million in FY 2016, likely a
total of $11 million through 2017

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
Within days, we relaunched and
reinvigorated our campaign
Facebook feedback:
“Done again and again. It is getting more and more difficult to reside
in CT and playing around with health services is about as low as you
can get. Everyone in the ten town area is at risk for real elimination of
services and will have to travel for care. Please contact Malloy and
your state reps.” – Debbie Joyal Cyr

Our planned affiliation becomes
collateral damage
Our campaign serves to illustrate the real
and immediate harm caused by the cuts.
Campaign Phase 2 | September - December

Hard decisions call for quick and
nuanced communication
October 8, 2015:
DKH announces $7 million in planned operating cuts
• Clear, concise internal communication first
• Public announcement quickly followed
• High transparency about the gravity of the
situation, balanced with a sense of control
Campaign Phase 2 | September - December

A small victory but it’s not enough;
our response must walk a fine line
October 9, 2015:
• Governor Malloy announces 95% restoration
of the small hospital fund, however the
supplemental funding still is not restored
Statement from DKH President and CEO Robert Smanik, stated
in part:
“We are very pleased and thankful to the Governor for recognizing the critical
importance of restoring these funds to small community hospitals. We are also
thankful to our local legislators...
While the restoration of these funds will bring a bit of much needed and welcome
relief, it will still only cover about one-third of the roughly $9 million budget gap
we face in our 2016 fiscal year, which just began on October 1.
Like all hospitals across the state, we are still faced with the loss
of the supplemental appropriation…For Day Kimball, that
amounts to nearly $2 million in lost revenue…In addition to
the loss of that funding, our hospital tax will increase by
about $2 million this year…”
Campaign Phase 2 | September - December

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
Our transparency & measured
messaging pay off
Editorial Support from the
Norwich Bulletin
“Strong leadership is necessary when times are good. But it’s
absolutely critical when times are tough. That leadership –
preparation for tough times, and making tough decisions when
they arrive – is on display now at Day Kimball Healthcare.”
“So on Thursday President and CEO Robert Smanik announced
moves that are expected to save $7 million... These are bold
moves that will affect many but will limit loss of jobs…”
“Day Kimball’s leaders showed their leadership in the face of
crisis. We are pleased that the state did the same. It won’t get Day
Kimball out of the woods for good. But it’s a start, and a relief.”

Even under the strain of tough times,
our message rings true for our staff
Underscores our approach – we are all on the same
team.
Campaign Phase 2 | September - December

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
We continue to make good use of
tools & tactics provided by CHA,
with a DKH twist

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
As the battle wore on, we
provided a steady stream of
insight and context
Working the budget battle into other
messaging and announcements kept it top
of mind and provided ongoing context

Campaign Phase 2 | September - December
“The folks in this part of CT should be very proud of the efforts of these legislators, and for the efforts of
DKH and its CEO” – Mary Palmstrom
“Our Governor finally listened. I was beginning to think all the emails were having no effect. DKH is a
great hospital and serves the people of NE CT so well.” – Paul R. Desautels
“Such a tremendous effort by all, and such great news.” – Kevin St. Jean
“Thanks to every person who spoke up!” – Elaine Hochberg
“Well done DKH..So proud of you.” – Angela Alabi
Success, celebration and thanks
December 9:
Partial restoration of supplemental hospital fund
• $1.7 million for DKH in addition to the $2.8 million in restored
hospital funding; net loss to DKH is $1.1 million down from the
original $5.6 million

Results
Thousands of pledges &
petitions
Spring - more than 2,600 people sent more than
5,000 paper and electronic pledges
Fall – our efforts contributed roughly 10% of the
more than 10,000 electronic messages sent to
legislators and the Governor

Results
Media coverage was
copious and favorable
• More than 150 placements
• ongoing, in-depth coverage and
supportive editorials by local and
reginal papers, as well as some
national coverage
• Reached an audience of over 220
million
• Advertising value equivalency of
more than $2 million
• Two statewide TV interviews
• Multiple local radio talk show
interviews

Results
Social media performance was strong
Facebook
• 27 campaign Facebook posts over 9 months
• 172,131 reached
• 3,692 likes
• 833 shares
• 555 comments
• 4,327 clicks through to our online petition and campaign pages
• Targeted boosted posts:
• average reach of 16,874 unique users - nearly 20% of our
region’s residents
• average click-through rate of 5.16%
• generated 6,313 actions and 122 page likes

Results
E-mail provided for a direct line
of contact with our most
connected audience
Your New Day e-newsletter generated 1,300+ clicks to the
online petition and campaign web pages

Results
Website served as an
effective hub for
information and action
During the campaign period, campaign pages
• received nearly 4,000 page views
• users spent a very healthy average of 2:24
on each page.
• This does not include visits to the I AM
New Day online petitions hosted by CHA

Results
The ultimate measure of success:
DKH avoided significant cuts to funding
• All $12 million in proposed cuts to DKH were removed from the
final state budget passed in July.
• Subsequent rescissions made in the fall were reduced by about
80%, from $5.6 million to $1.2 million

Beyond the Campaign | DKH Today
One last rollercoaster ride
Spring, 2016:
The campaign continued during state’s most
recent legislative session
• Majority of funding was retained
• More significantly, legislation passed to limit
Governor’s power of rescission over hospital
funding to 5%
Stronger and moving forward
• Renewed appreciation of value and place in
the community
• Strengthened awareness and confidence in
unique strengths
• Positive bottom line

Key Takeaways | The Secrets to Our Success
Take a team approach
Provide opportunities to get engaged

Key Takeaways | The Secrets to Our Success
Don’t reinvent the wheel –
but do customize it
• Make the most of limited resources by
dovetailing with others’ efforts and building
on existing messaging, whenever possible
• Focus additional tactics on providing the more
nuanced communication specific to you and
current situation

Key Takeaways | The Secrets to Our Success
Don’t just communicate; educate
Provide background and context

Key Takeaways | The Secrets to Our Success
Be transparent
• Take them along for the ride
• Builds trust and sense of personal investment

Key Takeaways | The Secrets to Our Success
Know what makes you
different and use it
to your advantage
Understand how those differences
translate to strengths and weaknesses;
strategize and communicate accordingly
so that what makes you different makes
you stronger

Questions?