North Oaks Initiatives Honored by Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing

The North Oaks Communications, Marketing and Public Relations team earned “Best of Show” honors and swept several categories at the 36^th Annual Gordon & Breaux Pelican Awards program hosted by the Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing (LSHPRM) on Nov. 3 at the Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge. North Oaks Health System ranked in the top three for most awards received for hospitals with more than 150 beds.

The society also presented a Golden Pelican Award to Allison Portier as Graphic Designer of the Year. Portier, a 5-year member of the North Oaks team, was honored for her passion for innovation, creativity and community service.

“This dynamic young woman is a wonderful example of the culture of excellence we are building at North Oaks Health System,” affirms Michele Sutton, president and chief executive officer of North Oaks Health System. “In everything she does, she exhibits the North Oaks values of communication, caring, compassion and commitment to coworkers. She is an outstanding role model for young women looking to excel in their chosen paths and make a difference in their community.”

Portier has earned multiple awards for her designs promoting health system services as a member of the North Oaks team. Most notably, she earned a “Best of Show” award from LSHPRM for a campaign promoting North Oaks Medical Center’s Shock Trauma program. Organizations, such as the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center and Rotary Club of Hammond, have benefited from her creative designs and volunteerism as well. Her commitment to making a difference also extends to her alma mater, Southeastern Louisiana University, where she serves as an adviser to her fellow Alpha Omicron Pi sorority sisters. Other accolades include Portier’s selection by the Ponchatoula Kiwanis Club as the 2016 poster artist for the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and by The Daily Star as one of this year’s “Future 40” honorees.

The health system’s website was recognized as “Best of Show” for graphic design. It also earned a Pelican Award in the “Multi-hospital System Website Initiative” category. Last updated in 2012, the latest redesign was launched Dec. 31, 2016, and rapidly surpassed the goal set for monthly traffic of 30,000 visitors. The new site has achieved a 67 percent increase in visitors per month thanks to responsive design technology and many enhanced features, such as an online physician directory, online bill payment and a robust news network, to name only a few.

Pelican Awards also were earned for the North Oaks Health System Patient Guide, “Source of Strength” Annual Report and the North Oaks Foundation Employee Giving Campaign.

The Patient Guide was designed as a booklet to place all required and important information at patients’ fingertips with a pocket to store additional information, such as after visit summaries.

Each year, North Oaks Health System publishes an annual report for distribution to its board of commissioners, health system leadership and other critical stakeholders, such as key government officials. This year’s report showcased how the health system is a source of strength in the areas of leadership, fiscal responsibility, performance management, community reinvestment and community involvement.

The North Oaks Foundation’s “Together We Can” Employee Giving Campaign won a Pelican Award for outstanding results. The campaign was launched in April 2017 as the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization’s first fundraising event. The foundation will provide funding for programs and equipment purchases that may not otherwise be possible for North Oaks Health System to fund through its operations. The “Together We Can” slogan served as a rallying cry to encourage staff to support the foundation in its efforts to improve community health, inspire innovation and creativity, as well as support each other in their work to heal the sick and injured.

Two Certificates of Merit also were awarded to North Oaks in the “Publications” category for its CommUnity and Heartbeat newsletters.

CommUnity is an external newsletter published three times annually, which reaches an average of more than 58,000 households per issue. North Oaks has produced it for 17 years to deliver timely medical information, health tips and preventive topics. It is also instrumental in publicizing health screenings, educational classes and support group meetings.

Heartbeat is an internal staff newsletter published quarterly for the past 32 years. It serves as a vehicle for employee, physician and volunteer recognition and important health system updates.

LSHPRM is an affiliate society of the Louisiana Hospital Association. Each year, LSHPRM sponsors the Pelican Awards to recognize and encourage improvement in quality, effectiveness and impact of hospital communications, public relations and marketing. This year, 22 health care organizations were recognized with awards given in 34 categories.

The North Oaks Communications, Marketing and Public Relations team earned “Best of Show” honors and swept several categories at the Thirty-sixth Annual Gordon & Breaux Pelican Awards program recently hosted by the Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing. Seated, from left, are Creative Manager Pam Cantrelle, Graphic Designer Allison Portier and Vice President of Strategy and Outreach Tracy Randazzo.