Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
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An hour-long September presentation delivered to a group of marketing professionals gathered at a conference has become cannon fodder in the ongoing back-and-forth between two big hospitals in our region – Mission Health and Park Ridge Health.
The presentation was delivered by Janet Moore, a top Mission executive and head of the hospital system’s marketing operation. She was talking about the use of social media, and her case study was lil ol’ Ashvegas.
Folks will recall that in 2009, tensions between Mission physicians and administration came to head and eventually led to the departure of then CEO Joe Damore. The Ashvegas role was to be the first to post internal communications between some of the upset physicians and the hospital board. Other local media outlets picked up on the story, and the snowball was rolling.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again: the part I played was simple. I listened, and I provided a community forum to air the issues. That was it. But sometimes, that’s enough.
I hope the community knows that I remain open and willing to listen to anyone. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has an axe to grind. But by offering a little transparency, lending an ear, we can work through our issues.
Moore’s presentation offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how Mission responded when confronted with the issues raised on my blog. If you don’t want to listen to the whole hour, don’t despair – I’ll be posting excerpts.
The video, as well as a much shorter video of excerpts that aim to make Moore look bad by taking some of her comments out of context, are posted at wncchoice.com, a website run by four doctors groups upset about how Mission has been operating in WNC.
I listened to most of Ms. Moore's presentation and was immediately struck by her contempt for the native/local population of WNC and her stating that the top management and board of MMH worked under the belief that everyone except for themselves were both ignorant and stupid. That attitude was clearly expressed to the MMH employees – too slow, provincial and ignorant to even understand what the smart people were doing.
The other thing that stood out was her implication that all was right with the MMH world except for a small handful of disaffected physicians. (Who knew that those docs were aware of computers, PR, communications, etc? Such a shock to the big brains that these docs could and would use a computer! ) Not to mention her implication that the disaffected docs were unethical in their use of communications, as opposed to MMH's sterling ethics and credibility. I was surprised to find the MMH debacle was so small and involved so few people. The sorry fact is that only the physicians had enough influence to pierce the bubble that Joe Damore, et al lived in.
Now that this genius is gone, and who knows why, there needs to be a line formed at the exit doors for the other delusionals who think that hot air and publicity equal quality patient care.
Mission pays the PR agency firm Hill & Knowlton tons of money. This was not original work at Mission, it was all done by the agency who made tons of money doing "crisis communications" and have now started advising Mission on how to cope in the digital media world.
Janet Moore has been at Mission for too many years and this simply shows it's past time for her to go. It's obvious she's just now catching up on digital communications and the how it has changed the landscape of marketing and communications.
She has little respect among the medical staff and employees, tends to delegate the real work to her numerous assistants. She's also been involved in several HR complaints. How this woman has held on for so long it beyond most staff at Mission.
Do not be deceived by the Park Ridge "christian" stance and their holier-than-thou attitude. Park Ridge seeks profits, and since Mission comes off as a threat to them, they are resorting to some very non-Christian personal attacks to achieve their ends. What is more important to you, the patient, or members of your family? WHERE you get your care, or the QUALITY of the care you receive? Which hospital is local yet nationally recognized in heart care and stroke? It ain't Park Ridge, neighbors, a hospital system that is NOT local.
It is unfortunate that this has cause Ms. Moore to loose her job with 21 years of service to the Mission organization and my heart goes out to her and her family. It is unconscionable that a 61 year old veteran of healthcare should be dismissed for representing her hospital.
I listened to most of Ms. Moore's presentation and was immediately struck by her contempt for the native/local population of WNC and her stating that the top management and board of MMH worked under the belief that everyone except for themselves were both ignorant and stupid. That attitude was clearly expressed to the MMH employees – too slow, provincial and ignorant to even understand what the smart people were doing.
The other thing that stood out was her implication that all was right with the MMH world except for a small handful of disaffected physicians. (Who knew that those docs were aware of computers, PR, communications, etc? Such a shock to the big brains that these docs could and would use a computer! ) Not to mention her implication that the disaffected docs were unethical in their use of communications, as opposed to MMH's sterling ethics and credibility. I was surprised to find the MMH debacle was so small and involved so few people. The sorry fact is that only the physicians had enough influence to pierce the bubble that Joe Damore, et al lived in.
Now that this genius is gone, and who knows why, there needs to be a line formed at the exit doors for the other delusionals who think that hot air and publicity equal quality patient care.
Still Dismayed and Disgusted.
Download to see full size: social media crisis communications decision tree from Social Media Influence. http://www.slideshare.net/socialmediainfluence/infographic-the-social-media-crisis-communications-decision-tree
FYI for those looking for a better way to handle social media crises.
Mission pays the PR agency firm Hill & Knowlton tons of money. This was not original work at Mission, it was all done by the agency who made tons of money doing "crisis communications" and have now started advising Mission on how to cope in the digital media world.
Janet Moore has been at Mission for too many years and this simply shows it's past time for her to go. It's obvious she's just now catching up on digital communications and the how it has changed the landscape of marketing and communications.
She has little respect among the medical staff and employees, tends to delegate the real work to her numerous assistants. She's also been involved in several HR complaints. How this woman has held on for so long it beyond most staff at Mission.
Do not be deceived by the Park Ridge "christian" stance and their holier-than-thou attitude. Park Ridge seeks profits, and since Mission comes off as a threat to them, they are resorting to some very non-Christian personal attacks to achieve their ends. What is more important to you, the patient, or members of your family? WHERE you get your care, or the QUALITY of the care you receive? Which hospital is local yet nationally recognized in heart care and stroke? It ain't Park Ridge, neighbors, a hospital system that is NOT local.
It is unfortunate that this has cause Ms. Moore to loose her job with 21 years of service to the Mission organization and my heart goes out to her and her family. It is unconscionable that a 61 year old veteran of healthcare should be dismissed for representing her hospital.
Holy crap!
I don't know what Ms. Moore said last night but she offered her resignation today and it was accepted. Can someone in attendance explain?