April 2015: Lead your market with education and outreach

As competition for home health and hospice clients becomes tougher than ever, it’s important to distinguish yourself from the other providers in your community. You should work to stand out not only for the hard work you do, but for the emphasis you place on being a true partner with your client.

  • One great way to do that is by sending out a personalized agency newsletter. Newsletters take you into your clients’ homes and demonstrate your interest in their well-being. Find ready-made newsletters for home health, private duty or hospice at www.tagwebstore.com/newsletter-products.php. These newsletters are Buy 1 Get 1 free on printing through April 30. Use promo code NEWS50 if ordering online to receive the discount.

Strokes kill more than 800,000 Americans every year, making this condition the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. A staggering 7 million people over age 20 in this country have had a stroke at some point in their lives. The seriousness of this condition underscores how important it is to get involved in raising awareness about strokes and how to prevent them. A perfect time to do that is May: Stroke Awareness Month. You not only may save lives through your outreach efforts, but you’ll be raising awareness of your stroke-specific medical services.

  • Call on clinical referral sources in your community and sell them on your agency’s outcomes when it comes to providing care for stroke patients. Find great Patient Outcomes Brochures for the Physician at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-physicians.php. You can easily show off how you compare to your competitors when it comes to a variety of outcomes measures.
  • The Patient Outcomes Senior Brochures are a natural companion to the physician brochures. They educate about stroke in easy-to-understand language. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-senior.php.
  • While touting your outcomes to physicians, show them that patient education is a strong component of your home health program. Comprehensive Patient Education Guides for Stroke not only are an eye-catching example of your work, but they help patients get more involved in their own care, which improves outcomes. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
  • Distribute personalized stroke care flyers at community health fairs, libraries, senior centers and anywhere that seniors gather. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
  • Stock the offices of referral sources, as well as pharmacies, rehab centers and hospital waiting rooms with rack cards about stroke. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/rack-cards.php.

May is a month when we recognize the vitality of our nation’s seniors. Not only is May Older Americans Month, but National Senior Health and Fitness Day is May 27. Celebrate your community’s seniors while you educate them about the benefits of home care.

  • Call on your top referral sources and distribute health log books for them to distribute to their patients. Physicians will be grateful to have a way for patients to keep track of important information in one place. Patients will carry the logs – and your agency’s contact information – everywhere they go. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/healthlog.php and www.tagwebstore.com/patient-scorecard-logs.php.

More than 50 million Americans are living with some form of arthritis, a joint inflammation that is characterized by pain and stiffness around one or more joints. That means one in five adults is coping with this disease! The CDC reports that about 42 percent of those with arthritis report that the condition limits their activities. May is National Arthritis Month, an awareness event sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation. Help increase awareness of this painful condition in your community while spreading the word about your agency’s services.

  • Visit the offices of your local professionals who specialize in treating those with arthritis and leave behind a stack of brochures about arthritis and how your agency’s services can help. Be sure to go beyond rheumatologists, internists, orthopedists, physical medicine, and family practice doctors. Others who encounter these patients include physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, chiropractors and acupuncturists. Find the brochures at www.tagwebstore.com/brochure.php.
  • When speaking with potential referral sources, show them how serious you are about arthritis care. Show off your arthritis treatment program’s professionalism with comprehensive patient education guides. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
  • Market your agency’s services while educating about arthritis by placing rack cards in stands at senior centers, pharmacies, rehabilitation facilities and independent living facilities. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/rack-cards.php.

November 2014: Ho! Ho! No! The holidays are here! Are you ready?

If you haven’t started thinking about Christmas and Hanukkah yet, now is the time. Thanksgiving will be here in a blink and you don’t want to get caught unprepared for your business’ holiday needs. So get in a festive mood and make sure you’re ready to not only celebrate, but share the season with your referral sources, health care partners, clients and staff.

  • Holiday Cards are a time-tested way to get into the spirit of the season, capture the attention of your referral sources and health care partners, and send a subtle reminder of the value of home care. Cards are personalized to your agency and are appropriate for all faiths. The newest available line of cards partners with a nonprofit agency that helps developmentally disabled adults learn job skills. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/holiday-cards.php.
  • Stand out from the holiday noise by sending a card that can be used all year long. Holiday calendar cards are personalized to your agency and include a one-page 2015 calendar. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/holiday-calendar-cards.php.
  • Spread holiday cheer with a high-value, low-cost giveaway for clients, referral sources, senior centers, and employees. Personalized CDs with beautiful instrumental versions of many holiday classics will enliven any environment and make sure your agency stays top of mind year after year. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/holiday-cd.php.
  • It’s not too late to order personalized home care calendars and get them in the hands of referral sources, community stakeholders, volunteers and patients. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/homecare-calendars.php.

Keeping patients, prospects, referral sources and community members informed is one of the greatest ways we can further our marketing efforts all year long. One of the best ways to do this is by distributing a monthly agency newsletter. It can be difficult for agencies to find the time or resources to compose strong newsletters month after month, but it doesn’t have to be.

  • Visit https://www.homecarenewsletters.com/ and check out its collection of dozens of ready-made newsletters available for home health, private duty and hospice. These newsletters are written in a friendly format and cover a wide range of topics relevant to physicians, patients and family members. Send them every month (digitally or via traditional mail) and keep your agency top of mind with these topical, informative marketing materials.

This International AIDS Awareness Month, make a commitment to increase community awareness of AIDS and HIV and the ways your agency can help. Be sure to also take part in World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

  • Provide HIV specialists with agency-personalized pain and symptom logs for them to distribute to their patients (and your prospects). The logs provide an easy way for patients to track their pain and other symptoms and communicate this information to their physician. Find them at https://tagwebstore.com/painsymptomlog.php.
  • Hospice agencies should be sure to leave behind personalized hospice specialty care flyers about HIV for use by physician office personnel. Find them at https://tagwebstore.com/hospice-specialty-care-flyers.php.
  • Call on HIV specialists in your community and discuss the benefits of hospice care for end-stage AIDS patients. Leave behind a personalized Guidelines for Hospice Admission flip chart, a physician tool that describes the common end-stage indicators for common illnesses, including HIV disease. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/flipchart-hospice.php.
  • Call on local clinics specializing in AIDS and HIV. Offer to host a free chronic disease management course that their clients will find helpful. Find the class (which can be taught by a non-clinician) at https://www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.

The amazing work done by volunteers is irreplaceable in our communities, as well as in many of our own agencies. Dec. 5, 2015 is International Volunteer Day. Make an effort to recognize those volunteers who help you do all that you do.

  • Hand out personalized giveaway cards complete with a small treat for your volunteers. Make sure to sign it yourself and have many of your agency’s leaders sign as well. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/giveaway.php.
  • Puzzle books are a fun and easy way to keep your agency’s name at the fingertips of almost anyone. Offer puzzle books to your volunteers. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/puzzlebook.php.
  • There are many fun and inexpensive ways you can treat volunteers with something special. Visit http://theadamgrp.espwebsite.com/ to check out tons of options, including personalized lanyards, water bottles, T-shirts, lip balms, and pens.
  • Your volunteers are among the best people to help spread the word about the good work your agency does. Make sure every volunteer has a stash of agency marketing brochures in their car so they can be ready to hand one out anytime someone expresses an interest in home care or hospice. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/marketing-brochures.php.