Responsibility and Sustainability (Apr 2013)
The public handshake, the pushed gossip and the healthcare marketing. A case study in the City Hospital Waid at Zurich
Abstract
In 2008 the way of communication and marketing of the City Hospital Waid in Zurich (Switzerland) changed. With the website re-launch the same year the hospital started to talk less and show more, providing handshakes with the reinforced public presentations. 2010 saw the biggest party for employees ever, the premiere of the first fulltime emergency service in job sharing-cooperation with the family physicians of Zurich and the start of the exclusive web-forum service by a team of physicians in the biggest portal for elderly people in Switzerland (www.seniorweb.ch). In 2011 a big open door day registered a record of 2700 visitors, the special campaign “teddy klinik” for kids and parents celebrated a successful start with the treatment of 230 teddybears, the start of the first non-medical public presentation Waidfokus+ and the first alumni party for ex assistant physicians. New events occurred in 2012: referring physicians campaign, first licence Teddyclinic sold, smartphone app, project hospital weather, new private ward, new intranet, Swiss association Scaph.net. Success: countless personal and written feedbacks and talks. Public handshakes do matter.
