PORT TOWNSEND— The social networking site Facebook is expected to become an important part of Jefferson Healthcare’s community outreach, according to information presented to the hospital’s Board of Directors at a meeting Wednesday.
“We expect that Facebook will help us educate the community about what it is we do, what we do really well,” said business development and marketing manager Melissa Strayer.
“It will empower them to get the information that they are not currently getting from other sources.”
Currently, the hospital reaches the public through printed materials, newspapers and its Web page but is looking for more interactive channels.
“We want to work with the community in real time,” Strayer said.
“With Facebook, the response is more intense and immediate.”
The presentation, which was developed over about a year from the idea stage, was given by clinical infomatics registered nurse Josh Brocklesby and administrative intern Kate Handler, who are both avid Facebook users where the board members and CEO Mike Glenn are not.
Based on data that one-half of all Washington residents have a Facebook page, Handler and Brocklesby estimated there are 14,000 Facebook users in Jefferson County.
The highest percentage are in the 18 years to 35 years age group, but senior citizens are increasing their use of the service, Brocklesby said.
Handler and Brocklesby distributed several handouts that demonstrated how a Facebook page would look, including sample comments from the existing Swedish Medical Center and Mayo Clinic pages along with a mockup of a Jefferson Healthcare page.
This included announcements about hospital services and news articles as well as individual patient messages.
Not all of the comments are positive: Some of the examples contain complaints about billing and insurance services as well as patient care.
The page would most likely let negative comments stand while providing a resolution for the complaint, then removing anything libelous or obscene.
“Normally, pages leave the good and the bad but delete the ugly,” said information technology director Roger Harrison.
As a “fan” site, the page’s content is open to the public, but it would require anyone who wanted to leave a message on the page or subscribe to its contents to “like” the page.
These comments cannot be anonymous, which usually maintains a courteous level of interaction, but would still need to be monitored several times daily in order to make sure that inappropriate information is deleted, according to Strayer.
While the entire board “liked” the idea, its biggest concern was privacy and how information that may violate that right could be controlled.
The hospital’s Facebook persona would not be linked to a specific individual but would speak as a corporate entity and be responsible for disseminating the party line, said Chief Operating Officer Paula Dowdle.
If any patients or their families wanted to disclose information, such as the nature of their treatment, that would be their prerogative, Dowdle said.
Strayer said she would ask patients to talk about their specific success stories as a source for the page’s content.
Handler, Brocklesby and Harrison will work to fine-tune the proposal, and they hope the page will go live by January.
“We have time to get it right. There is no rush,” Brocklesby said.
“And since other hospitals have developed Facebook pages, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
