June 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
PBS Schedules Series in Prime Time
Crosskeys Media® is pleased to announce that Remaking AmericanMedicine™…Health Care for the 21st Century, will be broadcast nationally on PBS every Thursday evening in October, beginning October 5 through October 26 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).
“On behalf of Matthew Eisen and everyone at Crosskeys Media, we want thank all of our partners in the Remaking American Medicine outreach campaign for your support for - and belief in - the project. With your help, we can encourage millions of people to view this important public television series. We urge you to renew your efforts to connect with public television stations in your communities to ensure that the message of the series - “It’s Your Health…You Call the Shots” - reaches the largest audience possible.”
- Frank ChristopherRAM Promotional Clip
Crosskeys Media is making available a 32-minute DVD featuring all four programs in the series. It will be sent to Partners, PBS stations and QIOs. We encourage you to use this DVD in your coalition and other outreach efforts.
Campaign NewsNational Awareness Advisory Committee Meeting
The third and final National Awareness Advisory Committee (NAAC) meeting was held on May 9 at the AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C. Thanks to Mike Naylor, AARP’s senior advisor, policy and strategy,
for hosting the session.Approximately 40 National Partner organizations and guests attended the meeting, which provided an update on the campaign and featured the work of National Partners, PBS stations and QIOs.
Frank Christopher of Crosskeys Media made the announcement about the PBS primetime schedule and then presented a 30- minute preview of the series. Each of the NAAC Subcommittee chairs (Coalitions, Media Relations/Promotion and National Symposium) provided updates on their respective activities. In addition, there were presentations by the Delmarva Foundation and WHUT-TV, which are working together on outreach activities in the Washington, D.C. area, and KETC-TV/St. Louis presented their extensive statewide RAM campaign.
Lee Allen, project director, provided an update on RAM coalitions and the PBS Station Incentive Grants program. Twenty-seven RAM coalitions are working with 420 local organizations and institutions -- many of which are members of the National Partners. Forty-two local television and radio programs related to RAM are in production across the country, RAM coalitions have scheduled 39 screening events, and 16 Town Hall meetings are also in the planning stages.
National Symposium
The National Symposium, which will serve as the culmination of the national awareness campaign, will take place on September 27, 2006 at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) offices in Washington, D.C. It will underscore the issues addressed in the series, feature the important work being undertaken by RAM coalitions and serve as a thought-provoking and highly informative event.
Dr. Donald Berwick, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), will serve as the keynote speaker. Several other nationally recognized individuals committed to quality improvement will make presentations as well as a number of Champions of Change who appear in the series. John Hockenberry will serve as the host. The event will be produced as a live Webcast in order to facilitate the widest possible audience and participation by coalition members and other stakeholders. The Amgen Foundation is underwriting the National Symposium. We encourage you to “hold that date” on your calendar!
Three More National Partners
We are pleased to announce that the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) and AcademyHealth have joined the National Partnership Program.
The ADA is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Its mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Dr. Anne Peters, one of the nation’s leading diabetologist, is featured in Program Three, “The Stealth Epidemic.”
Ten RAM coalitions are focusing on chronic disease, specifically diabetes prevention and management. Founded in 1999, NICHQ is aneducation and research organization dedicated solely to improving the quality of health care provided to children. Led by experienced children's health care professionals, NICHQ works to improve children's health care independently and by working in collaboration with others who share this goal.
AcademyHealth, which has been an active member of the RAM National Awareness Advisory Committee, is the professional home for health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners. It is a leading, nonpartisan resource for the best in health research and policy.
Campaign Tools & Resources
RAM Press Kit
The Remaking American Medicine press kit is now available on RAMcampaign.org in the “Press Room.” Each piece can be easily downloaded in both PDF and Word formats. National Partners, PBS stations and QIOs will be receiving complete kits in a CD-ROM mailing this week.
The press kit includes the series release as well as individual press
releases for each program. They can be easily customized for your use. In addition, there are several profiles of the Champions of Change featured in the series, photos and campaign graphics, quality related statistics, brief descriptions of each program, a Q&A with Executive Producer Frank Christopher and a bio of series host John Hockenberry.
We encourage you to use these materials in your magazines and newsletters, with your press contacts and on your respective Web sites. Please feel free to include your organizational logo on the Word versions if you wish to co-brand with the campaign.
You will continue to receive additional publicity materials in the coming months, including suggested Op-eds and bylined articles authored by several national spokespersons. Check the “Press Room” at RAMcampaign.org for the most up-to-date materials.
Patient- and Family-Centered Care – Top Ten Lists
The Institute for Family-Centered Care (IFCC) is making available
several “Top Ten” lists that you may wish to use in your respective campaigns. They can be found in the “Resources” section (under Document Index) on RAMcampaign.org. They include:
For Providers: Patients and Families as Advisors – Aimed at health care professionals, these suggestions are meant to encourage providers to incorporate patient- and family-centered care values into their practice.
For Consumers: Patients and Families as Partners – Aimed at family members, this list provides suggestion on how consumers can determine if their health care provider embraces patient- and family-centered care.
Top Ten Advisory Roles - Aimed at patients and family members, this list is meant to encourage consumers to actively participate in health care change.
Top Ten to Ensure Quality Care - Aimed at patient and family members, this list suggests how they can become partners in their own health care and ensure quality outcomes.
Quality Indicators of an Effective Provider - This list helps identify quality health care providers who embrace patient- and familycentered
care.
NOTE: Please send any campaign-related materials that you have produced to Lee Allen at lallen@devillier.com. We will post on RAMcampaign.org.
“Power to the Patients”
The South Dakota RAM coalition has produced a brochure (in both English and Spanish) that provides useful tips on how consumers can better manage their health care. It also includes a handy checklist that allows patients to track their medications and dosages. This is a good example of a brochure which targets consumers that you can easily replicate for promotional purposes. “Power to the Patients” (see picture at right) can be found on RAMcampaign.org in the “Resources” section.
RAM Coalitions
Champions of ChangeSeveral local Champions of Change, pioneers in electronic medical records and chronic care, will be featured in local television and radio programming produced by WFYI. Their stories are on the WFYI Web
site and will appear in coalition partner publications.Visit the Indiana RAM Coalition Web site at wfyi.org.
The site also features the work of Dr. Richard Shannon, Chief of Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, who is leading
the fight in confronting the epidemic of surgical site infections. Dr. Shannon appears in Program Two, "First Do No Harm," which
focuses on the impact of medical errors in hospitals.
Indiana RAM Coalition
Patient- and Family-Centered Care
The goal of the Indiana RAM coalition is to encourage patients and families to become stronger advocates for their own health care.
Coalition members include PBS station WFYI; Health Care Excel,the state Quality Improvement Organization; the Indiana School ofMedicine; Butler University; the University of Indianapolis School of Nursing; the Riley Children’s Hospital; and the Central Indiana Council on Aging. Coalition members are focusing on chronic disease management, patient safety, and better communication with health care providers with a special focus on the underserved. They have made presentations at statewide conferences and are promoting the
series and campaign on their respective Web sites and publications.
They are also conducting health care forums and Webcasts and plan to host community screenings and discussions around the series premiere in October.
The RAM Web site also features monthly consumer “Healthcare Tips” produced by coalition members. For more information, please contact:
Ellen Murphy
Public Relations Director
Health Care Excel
(812) 234-1499
emurphy@inqio.sdps.org
or
Gail Strong
Outreach Director
WFYI
(317) 636-2020
gstrong@wfyi.org
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 Lee Allen or Allan Childers.
Who to call
Devillier Communications, Inc. (DCI)
Please note new address and phone numbers for Devillier contacts:
5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015
Linda Devillier, President: Strategic Counsel, PBS Stations and
National Partnership.
(202) 885-5544 ext. 461,, ldevillier@devillier.com or lbdevillier@aol.com
Barbara Lohman, Senior Vice President: Campaign management, National
Partnership, media relations and QIO
support. (951) 340-0010, blohman1@aol.com
Lee Allen, Project Director: RAM Coalitions and PBS Incentive Grants
Program. (202) 885-5544 ext. 459, lallen@devillier.com
Gail Rubin, Sr. Account Supervisor:
Media Relations Campaign.
(505) 265-7215, grpr@flash.net
Allan Childers, Webmaster: Online Promotion and Remaking
American Medicine campaign Web site.
(202) 885-5544 ext. 460,achilders@devillier.com
Laura Warkentin, Project Manager: Promotional materials for National
Partners, PBS Stations and QIOs.
(202) 885-5544 ext. 458, lwarkentin@devillier.com
Crosskeys Media:
Please note new address and phone numbers for Crosskeys:
800 Garden Street, Suite B
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 966-3700
(805) 966-3744 (Fax)
Frank Christopher, Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(805) 966-3700, fc@crosskeysmedia.com
Matthew Eisen, Co-Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(619) 283-0480, me@crosskeysmedia.com
