Our Name In Lights

In the eleven months I've worked at Midwestern University, I have been involved in a lot of publicity efforts involving our two new clinics.

I arrived here just in time for the launching of the Midwestern University Eye Institute and only a couple of months after the adjacent Dental Institute had opened its doors. That meant I landed right in the middle of one of the biggest publicity pushes the University had done in years.

We have spent the months since I started working on ways to draw attention to our new state-of-the-art facilities. It's not too hard of a job because, as they say in the biz, the product sells itself. Think about it; patient care from some of the most experienced medical professionals in the Valley, the latest technological aids (necessary not only for the best care, but also to train the students in their use), and the lower patient costs in and of themselves present quite an attractive package.

Indeed, much of our best publicity has been word of mouth and inter-clinic referrals. One of my favorite anecdotes from my experiences at the clinics involves a patient at the Eye Institute that agreed to be interviewed for the local media after one of her appointments. After the cameras were finished, I thanked her for helping us, and she responded by telling me how impressed she was by the faculty and students at the Eye Institute and the friendliness and completeness of care she received.

"You ought to go next door and try our Dental Institute," I told her.

Fast forward a month or so. I am over in the Dental Institute looking for patients to agree to be photographed for the Arizona Republic for a focus piece on the clinic. Lo and behold, the first patient I come upon is my friend from the Eye Institute, who had taken my advice and was now a regular patient at the Dental Institute. Good-naturedly, she agreed (again) to be our subject, saying wryly, "I guess you folks are determined to make me a star!"

There are plenty of similar stories to be had about our clinics, and it's a sure bet that when the new Multispecialty Clinic complex that is being built in Downers Grove opens its doors in the next couple of years, we'll start hearing the same out of the Chicagoland area.

One of the great joys of advertising is getting to see your name in lights.  I just hope the clinics are ready to get even busier!