SHSMD

Highlights From the SHSMD Connections Conference 2023

Each fall, the annual SHSMD Connections Conference gathers the best and brightest of the strategy professions in health care, including marketing, digital engagement, communications, strategic planning and business development. This year’s event, held Sept. 10-12 in Chicago, was no exception.

In keeping with the age-old marketing axiom that the key to making a personal connection is getting personal, the meeting saw members and vendors engaged in impromptu conversations in the halls, outside sessions and in the exhibit hall. 

“Looking around [the exhibit hall], feeling the vibrancy and the depth of the conversations, and the connections, I felt a renewed sense of purpose—that ability to network and share ideas is incredible,” recalls Christine Albert, incoming president of the SHSMD Advisory Board and chief experience officer at LCMC Health in New Orleans. “When I interact with folks and look at SHSMD as an organization, I see passionate, professional people who are totally committed to improving and enhancing health and wellness.” 

Following the elections held during the Connections Conference, the following people will be joining Albert as newly elected members on the SHSMD Advisory Board for 2024: 

• Lindsay Cosimano, senior director of marketing and communications at Nebraska Health Network in Omaha;  
• Amy Stevens, vice president and chief marketing officer at Tidelands Health in South Carolina; and  
• Julia Yoder, marketing and public relations director at Brookings Health System in South Dakota.  

In addition, reelected to the Advisory Board were: 

• Lisa Crockett, vice president, system strategy and planning at Providence Health in Renton, Wash.;  
• Adam Higman, partner, strategic consulting at Press Ganey,in St. Petersburg, Fla.; and 
• Shay Pratt, vice president, health care research at The Advisory Board Company in Washington, D.C. 

Returning to the board for another year were: 

• Terri Flood, vice president of business development at Wayne HealthCare in Ohio;  
• Dorian L. Harriston, chief marketing and communications officer at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta;  
• Suzanne B. Hendery, chief marketing, communications and customer officer at Renown Health in Reno, Nev.; 
• Jennifer D. Horton, vice president of strategy and account services at Ten Adams in Evansville, Ind.;  
• Dennis S. Jolley, system vice president, strategy & planning at UW Health in Madison, Wis.;  
• Dan Miers, chief strategy officer at SPM Marketing & Communications in LaGrange, Ill.; and, 
• Ryan Younger, vice president of marketing at Virtua Health in Marlton, N.J.  

In the coming year, the Advisory Board will focus on updating SHSMD’s strategic plan, making changes that will build “our core strengths, human connection and providing [members with] resources, content and education,” Albert says. 

As a society, SHSMD will also be placing even greater attention on the role of marketing and communications professionals in health-system labor problems; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues; and matters related to community and accessibility. 

“Our members are being called upon to flex and expand their thinking and their roles,” Albert notes. “The sense that our members have a different seat at the table is incredibly exciting.” 

In addition to announcing the makeup of the Advisory Board for 2024, SHSMD awarded its 2023 Leadership Excellence Award to Christine Gallery, senior vice president of planning and chief strategy officer at Emerson Health in Massachusetts. The award was given in recognition of Gallery’s “exemplary leadership, innovation and commitment to the profession.” 

“Christine demonstrates excellence and innovation by adapting and leading in a time of rapid change for the health care field, providing value to her colleagues, patients and partners,” notes Christine Schuster, president and CEO of Emerson Health and chair of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association board. 

Keynotes and Sessions 

SHSMD Connections 2023 also featured several informative and inspiring keynote addresses and educational sessions for attendees engaged in a wide variety of executive roles within health systems. 

In the opening day keynote address, titled “Sparking Creativity: Live with Wonder, Wisdom and Whimsy,” Brad Montague, author and creator of the “Kid President” online video series, highlighted the importance of storytelling in making personal connections with others. “It’s important to tell real stories, true stories, stories that inspire people to tell their own stories that bring people together,” he notes. 

In his keynote titled “Data-Driven DEI: Make DEI Part of Your DNA,” day two's speaker Randal Pinkett, PhD, author, entrepreneur, and cofounder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, made “a strong business case for” DEI but emphasized that “making personal connections to the value of DEI work is the real key to success.”  

“Greater diversity of thought drives innovation, something that benefits both organizations and individuals,” Pinket adds. 

Day three's keynote titled “Achieving AI’s Promise and Transformative Power to Shape Health Care’s Future” addressed a topic seen in headlines every day.  Speaker and health IT executive Laura Adams says, “The hope is that AI can help us solve some of our most vexing problems in health care. The hype is that AI will ‘automagically’ solve all our problems. AI holds enormous promise, but only if we avoid the peril.” 

In a session called “Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste,” SHSMD’s Albert joined fellow industry leaders David Perry, executive vice president of Strategy Bowstring Studios; Lin MacMaster, vice president of brand, content and creative strategy at Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Wash.; and Jennifer Weiss Wilkerson, vice president and chief strategy officer at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore, in discussing a topic that is certainly relevant given world events. The session highlighted the importance of strategy in times of crisis. 

"An organization’s brand strategy bridges the gaps between different functions and brings the organization together," says Weiss Wilkerson. "A strong brand strategy is built off a strong base of research [and] experience is everyone’s job in a health system.” 

At the conclusion of the conference, attendees had positive overall impressions of the sessions and other events. Drew Landmeier, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Nemours Children’s Health based in Jacksonville, Fla., highlighted many “new connections made.” 

“I’m excited about future collaborations and enhancing access to pediatric health information for all,” he says.