October Digest: Get more referrals with these great ideas

November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. As our nation’s senior population grows, more Americans will be living with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 5.4 million Americans already are living with the disease, making it the most common form of dementia.

  • Present a free class on staying mentally sharp at your area senior centers. The Exercise Your Brain class from the Health Matters Education Series offers an easy-to-follow presentation about ways to keep mentally fit to stave off problems in memory and thinking. Find it at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.
  • After the class, leave behind puzzle books personalized to your agency to not only keep these potential clients mentally engaged, but to create broader awareness of your agency and educate about the benefits of home health, hospice or private duty care. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/puzzlebook.php.
  • Visit with local neurologists, geriatric psychiatrists and geriatricians to tell them about your Alzheimer’s program. Demonstrate your agency’s serious focus on working with Alzheimer’s patients by showing off your Alzheimer’s disease patient education guide. Find it at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php. Leave behind stacks of your Alzheimer’s disease information brochures in their waiting rooms. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/disease-information-brochures.php.

If you haven’t ordered personalized home care or hospice calendars yet, it’s time to stop waiting. Agency calendars are a durable, useful tool that your referral sources, prospects and patients will refer to all year long. This is one of the most cost effective and versatile tools you can have in your marketing toolbox – don’t gloss over this once-a-year opportunity to make sure your name, services and logo are font and center with everyone in your service area. It’s something they will WANT to see every day. Order by Oct. 31 and automatically get 25 free with every 100 calendars that you order.

When your staff isn’t in the home with a client, someone else usually is. It’s someone who does hour after hour of work with no expectation of pay or recognition. And it’s someone we are all grateful for: the family caregiver. November is National Family Caregivers Month. It’s a wonderful time to show family caregivers that what they’re doing matters far more than they know.

  • Visit caregiver support groups in your area and supply refreshments for a meeting in November. Ask to address the group and tell them about the benefits of home care, making sure to distribute your agency’s marketing brochures. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/marketing-brochures.php.
  • Distribute FAQ brochures to all the libraries and coffee shops in your area. Be sure to leave them at community counters wherever possible. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/faq-brochures.php.
  • Make the lives of your patients and their family caregivers easier by giving them a clear guide that shows them when their symptoms require a call to emergency services, to their home health nurse, or require no action at all. Zone flyers make this simple and are personalized to your agency. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/zone-flyer.php.
  • Set up a booth at community events this month and distribute agency materials, including disease information brochures personalized to your agency. These brochures educate on specific conditions and tell how home health, private duty or hospice care can help. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/disease-information-brochures.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.

October 2014: It’s time to get serious about home care

We have big news, blog readers! We want you to be the first to know about the great way we’re making home care marketing easier than ever. All of the printed products in our webstore (www.tagwebstore.com) are 30% OFF through the end of November*. Let’s talk about ways you can use them to boost your referrals, profits and community reputation.

But first, let’s discuss the one giveaway your agency can’t afford to skip this season: personalized hand sanitizer. 

  • Flu season is underway, and everyone has preventing illness on their minds – especially as viruses such as Ebola and enterovirus D-68 continue to make daily headlines. Give peace of mind to patients, prospects, referral sources and staff while also helping reinforce their mental connection with your agency by distributing Mist-a-Germ pocket spray at all your community engagements. Find it at https://www.tagwebstore.com/mistagerm.php. In a promotional offer valid through Oct. 31, Mist-a-Germ is available at a 10% discount with no set-up charges.

If you haven’t ordered personalized home care or hospice calendars yet, it’s time to stop waiting. Agency calendars are a durable, useful tool that your referral sources, prospects and patients will refer to all year long. This is one of the most cost effective and versatile tools you can have in your marketing toolbox – don’t gloss over this once-a-year opportunity to make sure your name, services and logo are font and center with everyone in your service area. It’s something they will WANT to see every day.

When our staff isn’t in the home with a client, someone else usually is. It’s someone who does hour after of work with no expectation of pay or recognition. And it’s someone we are all grateful for: the family caregiver. November is National Family Caregivers Month. It’s a wonderful time to show family caregivers that what they’re doing matters far more than they know.

  • Visit caregiver support groups in your area and supply refreshments for a meeting in November. Ask to address the group and tell them about the benefits of home care, making sure to distribute your agency’s marketing brochures. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/marketing-brochures.php. (Don’t forget, all tri-fold brochures are buy 1 get 1 free through October. Minimum order or 250 per topic required. See all eligible brochures at https://www.tagwebstore.com/brochures.php.)
  • Distribute FAQ brochures to all the libraries and coffee shops in your area. Be sure to leave them at community counters wherever possible. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/faq-brochures.php.
  • Make the lives of your patients and their family caregivers easier by giving them a clear guide that shows them when their symptoms require a call to emergency services, to their home health nurse, or require no action at all. Zone flyers make this simple and are personalized to your agency. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/zone-flyer.php.
  • Set up a booth at community events this month and distribute agency materials, including disease information brochures personalized to your agency. These brochures educate on specific conditions and tell how home health, private duty or hospice care can help. Find them at https://www.tagwebstore.com/disease-information-brochures.php.

It’s here! National Home Care and Hospice Month is finally here! Well, almost. There are still a few weeks left before the celebrations start, but October is the time to kick your planning into high gear. November’s National Home Care and Hospice Month is a great month to not only celebrate the important work you do, but to draw positive community attention to your agency.

  • Use special National Home Care Month or National Hospice Month greeting cards, magnets and bookmarks to recognize the efforts of your employees, volunteers and referral partners – all the physicians, discharge planners, case managers, social workers and others who play a huge role in making your work possible. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/homecaremonth/index.php.
  • As you educate the community about what home care or hospice care is all about, use informative flip charts to ensure referral sources know when it is appropriate to refer a patient to your services. Guidelines for Home Health Admission for ICD-9 or ICD-10 are personalized to your agency and list the diagnosis codes for more than 200 common conditions. Find them at: https://www.tagwebstore.com/hhflipchart/ and https://www.tagwebstore.com/hhflipchart10/.  Guidelines for Hospice Flip Charts detail the admission guidelines for many common hospice diagnoses. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/flipchart-hospice.php.
  • Demonstrate to referral sources that you are not only qualified, but have a proven record of assisting patients with a variety of conditions. Patient Outcomes Brochures for Physicians outline the services you offer per disease. They also provide real data about your quality outcomes and how they compare to your competitors. Find them at https://tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-physicians.php. Find accompanying brochures for patients at https://tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-senior.php.
  • Distribute FAQ brochures about Home Care, Hospice or Private Duty care at health fairs and community events in November as you educate about your services. Brochures include answers to commonly asked questions about coverage, payment, services, eligibility and more. Find them at https://tagwebstore.com/faq-brochures.php.

Plan for November: 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. Find them at 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 2014 calendar. Find them at 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 www.tagwebstore.com/holiday-cd.php.

Speaking of holidays, New Year’s Day is only weeks away, which of course means the end of 2013. If you haven’t already, it’s definitely time to make sure your agency is putting the new year to work for you. Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunity to put your agency’s name and contact information in the hands of referral sources, prospects and clients all year long.

  • Personalized home care and hospice wall calendars are an excellent way to promote your agency while educating referral sources and patients. Distribute them to everyone and ensure that your agency maintains community awareness throughout the year. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/homecare-calendars.php.
  • Call on local senior centers and referral sources this month and make sure to leave behind a lasting and helpful reminder of who you are and what you do. Personalized magnetic calendars will find homes on refrigerators and file cabinets all year long, jogging their memory about your agency every time they glance at the date. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/magnetic-calendar.php.
  • Arm your employees with notebook planners or weekly planners personalized to your agency that will not only accentuate their professional appearance, but will keep them organized. Planners feature plenty of room for notes and scheduling, and also list important health care observances. These also are useful tools for referral sources. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/notebook-planners.php and www.tagwebstore.com/weekly-planners.php.
  • Attend local senior-focused health fairs and distribute personalized pocket planners to prospects. Clients also will find these helpful for keeping track of their appointments – and remembering your agency name if they need home care services again in 2014. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/pocket-planners.php.

December is an important month in health care because it’s the time of year when we highlight one of the world’s most serious diseases: AIDS.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.1 million Americans ages 13 and older were living with HIV in 2009, including 207,600 who had undiagnosed infections. About 50,000 people are newly infected with the virus that causes AIDS each year. In fact, someone in the U.S. is infected with HIV once every 9.5 minutes. Additionally, about 30,000 people were diagnosed with AIDS in 2011. This is in addition to the estimated 487,692 people already living with an AIDS diagnosis in 2010. The disease remains deadly in spite of recent medical advances – 15,529 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2010 in this country. About 636,048 people with an AIDS diagnosis in the United States have died since the disease was discovered.

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.

  • 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 at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.
  • Hospice agencies should be sure to leave behind personalized hospice specialty care flyers about HIV for use by agency personnel. Find them at www.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.
  • 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 www.tagwebstore.com/painsymptomlog.php.

Prepare for August: Plan Ahead and Educate

The year is halfway over and it’s time to start thinking about 2014. Home care and hospice-specific calendars educate about common conditions and keep your agency in front of referral sources, clients and potential clients all year long. Getting your calendars early means you’ll have them ready for distribution as fall creeps closer.

  • Plan your outreach efforts for the second half of the year, including events and opportunities to distribute traditional wall calendars. Time-tested and durable, calendars will remind referral sources, patients and others about your services, and will make them aware of healthcare observances and any other dates that are important to your agency. Find them at: www.tagwebstore.com/homecare-calendars-topics.php.
  • Hand out magnetic calendars personalized to your agency at health fairs, senior centers and all your educational events. Find them at: www.tagwebstore.com/magnetic-calendar.php.

Did you know that many seniors aren’t as protected against disease as they could be? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only about 62 percent of people age 65 or older were vaccinated against pneumonia in 2011, and that figure dropped to rates of 40-47 percent among minorities. Vaccination rates were equally low for diseases such as tetanus, hepatitis B and shingles.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Commit to raising awareness about the importance of adult vaccination. It will improve your community’s health and show that your agency is a champion for senior health.

  • Distribute mousepads that educate on seniors and immunizations to your referral sources. These mousepads come with 25 tear-away sheets and include a calendar, to-do list and your agency’s logo and contact information. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/mousepads.php.

National Safe at Home Week is Aug. 26-30. It’s an ideal time to get out into the community and educate about the potential dangers lurking in the place where people feel the safest: home.

  • Distribute Home Safety flyers at health fairs and other community events. The flyers are personalized with your agency’s logo and contact information and include information on fall prevention, fire safety and general household safety. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
  • Show your referral sources this month that you are committed to ensuring patient safety. Integrate patient education guides for fall prevention into your services for those at an elevated risk for a fall. The guides also are an eye-catching tool you can use to show referral sources how seriously you take this issue. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
  • Host a free educational class at your area senior centers on the importance and basics of fall prevention. Find a ready-made class at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.