A common challenge in rural health today that leaves many administrators scratching their heads is internal communications and how to improve it. It seems virtually impossible to keep staff in different locations working different shifts aware of frequent updates and vital information. Email blasts, bulletin boards, mailbox flyers, and paycheck inserts just don't seem to get the job done. So what is a hospital with alot of communication needs and limited resources to do? That is exactly the question that led the founder of HospitalPortal.net to create a collection of modules to help hospitals meet those needs with limited IT staff nearly 15 years ago. Since then, HospitalPortal.net's intranet solution has continued to evolve, adding new functionality and modules several times a year based on enhancement requests from clients. This educational session will be co-presented by Regan Sonnabend of HospitalPortal.net and HospitalPortal.net client Catherine Todd. Catherine is Sr. Director of Business Development and Community Relations at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish, MT. Catherine joined North Valley Hospital in 2010 and is responsible for marketing, communications, media relations and community relations, in addition to functioning as the Public Information Officer for the hospital and its outreach clinics. Her previous experience in the medical products and services industries include Director of Worldwide Marketing for Paragon Vision Sciences, Senior Brand Manager for Commercial Infection Control Products at the Dial Corporation, and Certified Cytogenetic Technologist for Genetrix, all in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. Catherine earned her BS degree in Zoology and MBA with a focus on Marketing from Arizona State University.

1. 4 Secrets to Improve Internal
Communications in Rural Healthcare

2. About North Valley Hospital
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Critical Access Hospital
Whitefish, Montana
Planetree Affiliate
350 employees; 60 active medical staff

3. The Situation
Variety of Communication Vehicles
• Hard copy monthly newsletter
• Two e-mail systems
• Staff break room bulletin
boards
• Flyers in department
mail boxes
• Payroll stuffers
• Old intranet

4. The Situation
Previous Intranet Home Page

5. Goals for New Intranet
1. One-stop shop for staff news, information and
resources
2. More timely dissemination of information
3. Up-to-date information
4. Easy remote access
5. Increase efficiencies &
tracking of documents
6. Central document repository
7. Password protected sections
8. Easy to create and maintain

6. Implementation Steps/Timing
Optimization
Launch
Kick-off
meeting
10/30/12
Branding and
Imagery;
Home page
template
Governance
Committee;
Role ID
Input from
departments
Internal Page
Template
2-day build
& training
3/1/13

7. New Intranet Home Page

8. New Intranet Home Page
with Password Protected Pages

9. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
Place A Request

10. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
Submit Feedback
Incident Notices

11. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
Calendars &
On-Call
Schedules

12. Department Pages

13. Clinic Pages

14. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
Education
& Training

15. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
“Newsletter”

16. North Valley Hospital Intranet
Features
Electronic Bulletin Board to
post personal information & events

17. Launch Activities
• Ice Cream Social
• “Scavenger” hunt
• Department
Champions
• Weekly e-News Blast

18. Launch Activities

19. Intranet Usage
Average hits
on Home Page
per day in first
6 months
700

20. Intranet Usage
Page Statistics

21. Intranet Usage
Page Statistics
Tues - Thurs

22. Keys to Success
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Senior Management Buy-In
Project Leader
Super users
Easy to use software that incorporates a
well organized design
• Activities to encourage awareness,
education and participation
• Continual optimization
• Keep content fresh

23. Future Plans
• Policies & Procedures
• Contracts

24. #1 Define Governance and Standards

25. #2 Centralize Communications

26. #3 Leverage Technology

27. Document Management:
Policies and Procedures, Contracts, Forms

28. Moderator Step
Author Step
POLICY APPROVAL
WORKFLOW
Publishing Step
Approval Step

29. #4 Evolve

30. Intranet Benefits
• Improved organization-wide communications
 Instant access to information
 Content search-ability
 Content management decentralization
• Promote regulatory compliance
 Joint Commission, CMS, HIPAA, etc
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•
•
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Improved policy and procedure management
Enhanced patient care
Reduced risk of lawsuits
Significant savings
 Paper and printing/distribution
 Productivity
• Boost employee satisfaction
 Eliminated tedious and time-consuming content publishing tasks.

31. Q&A
Enter your questions into the “Question” area of the
GoToWebinar dropdown menu.
• Please help us by answering the survey at the end
of this presentation.
• Contact us at 866-580-7700x276 or
rural@hospitalportal.net with any questions,
feedback, or thoughts.
• www.HospitalPortal.net