April 2006 RAM Campaign E-Newsletter
Want the latest news on what is happening with Remaking American Medicine? The bi-monthly RAM Campaign Newsletter features stories about the latest things happening with local coalitions, the campaign and the production series. All previous RAM Campaign Newsletters are available here.
Download the PDF Version of this issue and see the newsletter's new format.
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Series Update
Production has largely been completed. All four programs are currently being scripted and edited. Rough cuts will be delivered to PBS during the week of April 17 so we can begin to finalize the series broadcast dates and times. Individual programs will also be sent to members of the series advisory panel for their review.
Crosskeys Media® is now finalizing a variety of post-production elements. These include: contracting with a composer for the original score; finalizing designs for the set Hockenberry will appear in; creating a graphic open; and preparing for the sound mix, color correction, and closed captioning. All programs should be completely finished by May 31 to meet a September broadcast.
Production News
Crosskeys Media® Announces Series Host
Award-winning television journalist John Hockenberry has agreed to host Remaking American Medicine™… Health Care for the 21st Century. A former correspondent for Dateline NBC, he joined the network in 1996 after a 15-year career in broadcast news at both National Public Radio (NPR) and ABC News. His most prominent Dateline report included a documentary on the often-fatal tragedy of the medically uninsured. He has earned four Emmys for his reporting.
A former writer for The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Columbia Journalism Review, Hockenberry also wrote and co-anchored the award- winning NPR series, “The DNA Files” for which he received the Peabody Award and a Columbia Dupont award for science and medical journalism. He authored Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independence, his memoir about life as a foreign correspondent and overcoming personal challenges.Hockenberry will appear on camera at the beginning and end of each program to provide opening and closing remarks. He will not appear on camera for the stories themselves, but will provide the off-camera narration.
Campaign News
Final Meeting of the National Awareness Advisory Committee (NAAC)
Once again, Mike Naylor of AARP, a National Partner, has graciously offered the use of the Cy Brickfield Center in Washington, D.C. for the final NAAC meeting which is scheduled for May 9 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m, ET. An agenda will be distributed in advance, but here are a few topics that will be covered:
- Crosskeys Media will provide a preview clip from the series and
discuss the national premiere.- The Coalition, Media Relations & Promotion and National Symposium subcommittees of the NAAC will provide an update on their activities
being conducted on behalf of the series and the campaign.- Several exciting RAM coalition efforts including PBS station activities will be highlighted.
Most importantly, the goal of this meeting will be to focus on the major tasks in the final months of the public awareness campaign. If you have any questions please contact Lee Allen.
NAAC Subcommittees
The NAAC subcommittees continue to provide excellent guidance and support to the campaign. Here are a few examples of their work:Coalition Subcommittee Co-Chairs Carolyn Pare, CEO of the Buyers Health Care Action Group, and Marc Boutin, sr. vice president of the National Health Council (NHC), provided suggestions to coalition leaders on how to effectively solicit support from employers and health care purchasers from the business communities. In March, the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) featured a presentation by Carolyn Pare to their state business coalition members. In February, Marc arranged for presentations by Crosskeys Media and DCI before 100 members of the NHC’s Leadership Council.
The Media Relations & Promotion Subcommittee is led by Gillian Ray, communications director at the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI). At a recent meeting they reviewed and approved campaign messages and discussed how best to leverage the national spokespersons and engage the interests of major health care trade publication editors and reporters. Several members volunteered to host press briefings for key reporters and editors with whom they have excellent relations. If you have any suggestions for the subcommittee, please contact Barbara Lohman at blohman1@aol.com.
Coalition Activities
We’re pleased to provide an update on the work of the remarkable Missouri RAM coalition. We also welcome HealthInsight Utah and KUED-TV to the campaign.
Primaris Teams with KETC on RAM Campaign
KETC, the St. Louis PBS station, in partnership with Primaris (Missouri's Quality Improvement Organization) and statewide community partners, has initiated a very aggressive effort. The cornerstone is a four-part documentary series, Remaking Missouri Medicine, which is meant to inspire and empower viewers. It will air in April and be rebroadcast in September around the national series.
The programs will explore the advances being made to improve the quality of patient care in hospitals, how technology is advancing chronic disease management, and access to adequate health care.
Community ConnectionsThe companion outreach campaign has been designed to actively
engage viewers to become more involved in their own health care and to facilitate an ongoing public dialogue about the importance of each issue addressed within Remaking Missouri Medicine and the national series, Remaking American Medicine. KETC, Primaris and community partners will be making local presentations on quality health care across the state and providing the Remaking Missouri Medicine: Guide to Quality Healthcare to help people access medical care. The guide will be distributed in conjunction with both broadcasts and posted on the station Web site. In addition, KETC will provide brief film clips focusing on quality medical care that will be used by coalition members across the state. To find out more about the programs and the statewide campaign, please log on to www.ketc.org/productions/remakingmomedicine.asp. For more information, contact:
Matt Heger, Primaris Health, Media Relations, 573-817-8300 ext. 136, mheger@primaris.org
Amy Shaw, KETC, Director of Education Services, 314-512-9041, ashaw@ketc.org
HealthInsight Utah and KUED, Salt Lake City Create RAM Coalition
HealthInsight and KUED, the PBS station in Salt Lake City, are developing a statewide campaign on behalf of the series. Initial coalition members include AARP, the End of Life Care partnership, BlueCross BlueShield, University of Utah School of Medicine and the Caregiver Coalition of Utah. Through programming, community forums and workshops, the coalition plans to construct a long-term initiative that will encourage positive change in the Utah medical system and patient accessibility and awareness.
The outreach activities will be designed to enable patients to
effectively interact with providers. For example, a companion Web site will link coalition members and will provide a variety of consumer tools and resources. It will also stream video clips from community discussions. If you have stakeholders or members in Utah, please ask them to get in touch with the coalition leaders listed below:
Christie North, HealthInsight, Project Coordinator, 801-892-0155, cnorth@healthinsight.org
Jacqui Voland, KUED-TV, Outreach Coordinator, 801-585-3523, jvoland@kued.org
Campaign Tools & Resources
A comprehensive Remaking American Medicine press kit will be available in early May in the “Press Room” of RAMcampaign.org. We encourage everyone to utilize the many quality related tools produced by our Partners. For example:
The National Partnership for Women & Families recently announced a new brochure for health care quality advocates and consumers alike. “Compare Your Health Care: Become An Informed Consumer” is available in a downloadable PDF file and can be accessed on the National Partnership Web site: www.nationalpartnership.org and on www.RAMcampaign.org. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting Jennifer Sweeney at JSweeney@nationalpartnership.org.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has just
released a new interactive Web-based tool for states to use in measuring health care quality. The new State Snapshot Web tool is based on the 2005 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR), originally released on January 9, and provides quick and easy access to the many measures and tables of the NHQR from each state's perspective. To view the State Snapshot tool, go to www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/qualityreport/2005/state/summary/intro.aspx.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) launched its redesigned Web site, www.jointcommission.org, featuring “one-click navigation” that means consumers and health care organizations can tap into the latest information on health care quality and safety. The retooled site uses advanced behind-the-scenes technologies that enable users to more easily and quickly find the information that they want.
We want to remind everyone that the RAM campaign promotional brochure is ideal for use at conferences, coalition meetings and events. The four-panel brochure is an easily downloadable PDF file that can be found in the “Resources” section of the RAM Web site along with Partner resources.
RAMcampaign.org
We encourage you to visit the campaign Web site on a regular basis. There is a constant flow of new information being added including coalition updates, Partner events, local Champions of Change and relevant press stories. If you would like to have your information placed on the site, just contact Allan Childers.
More News
Local Champions of Change
We are pleased to feature several new Champions of Change and thank our colleagues who have brought them to our attention. To view the latest stories go to RAMcampaign.org and click on each of the Champions on the home page.
Please continue to send us nominees. They should relate directly to the series and demonstrate a clear commitment to quality improvement. Stories should focus on a particular issue and how the Champion is making positive changes in his or her local community.If you have possible Champions, please send a note to Lee Allen. Provide photos and a brief description of their work. Don’t forget to send us your contact information and that of your nominee.
Get your members involved
It’s not too late to introduce your members and affiliates to Remaking American Medicine. Send them a copy of this newsletter and encourage them to visit RAMcampaign.org. Here are two other ways to get them involved:
A. Teleconferences
The RAM team has participated in a number of teleconferences at the request of our National Partners. Presentations are tailored to your needs and structured to meet your time considerations. DCI can also provide an accompanying PowerPoint® presentation. To learn more, contact Lee Allen.B. Internal Communications/Web site
Beginning in May you can expect to receive a steady stream of promotional materials for use in your respective publications, newsletters and Web sites. This will include press releases, series features and suggested bylined articles by series spokespersons. We hope you will use them during the coming months. Once the materials are available, look for a campaign E-Alert. Please continue to check the “Resources” and “Press Room” sections at www.RAMcampaign.org.
Who to call
Devillier Communications, Inc. (DCI)
Linda Devillier, President: Strategic Counsel, PBS Stations, National Partner recruitment and relationships, QIO support. Available for presentations.
(202) 833-8121 ext. 3005, ldevillier@devillier.com or lbdevillier@aol.com
Barbara Lohman, Senior Vice President: Overall responsibility for campaign management, National Partner recruitment and relationships, QIO support. Available for presentations. (951) 340-0010, blohman1@aol.com
Lee Allen, Project Director: Day to day responsibility for the campaign. Serves as official liaison with Partners, QIOs and PBS stations. Manages PBS Incentive Grants Program. Available for presentations. 202-833-8121 ext. 3009, lallen@devillier.com
Laura Warkentin, Project Manager: Responds to all requests for promotional materials such as written materials, series video clips and artwork. Provides overall support to QIOs/ National Partners Program and Web site. (202) 833-8121 ext. 3014, lwarkentin@devillier.com
Allan Childers, Webmaster: Manages Remaking American Medicine campaign Web site. (202) 833-8121 ext. 3007, achilders@devillier.com
Crosskeys Media:
NOTE: Crosskeys Media has a new address and phone number. The new office address is: 2021 Sperry Avenue, Suite #5 Ventura, CA 93003. The new telephone number is noted by Frank’s name. The new fax number is (805) 650-8304. Matthew’s telephone number remains the same.
Frank Christopher, Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(805) 650-8300, fc@crosskeysmedia.com
Matthew Eisen, Co-Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(619) 283-0480, me@crosskeysmedia.com
