European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Hospitals ditch Larder for patients by Tamar lew1n new York times t to faked for Tupperware. So now hospitals Are using the same idea gelling a group of women to Gal hot m a Homs in games prizes refreshments Ana a sales pitch. But a Insko Dyckes women s Homo health care parties sponsored by the 51. Eulabe i medical Center in Dayton Ohio the Pilch comes from re colors and nurses and what is being sold is nothing less than the Hospital itself. Ii is a sol i sell the icebreaker is a game in which a doctor s Black bag full of medical instruments and supplies is passed around and each woman takes a turn pulling Someth no out of the bag and telling the of group what Fie thinks it is used for. And the women Are never asked to sign up for Hospital services. The concept behind in is to create Good word of Mouth said Joan Thomas the senior vice president of marketing at is Elizabeth. It s a very Good solid Community service bul it also gives us a Chance to showcase what we re Good at. The women who come to the parties Are Well so we Don t expect them to show up at 1he Hospital the next Day but he physicians who give he parties Defini Lely do get new patients As a Rogull and eventually a lol of those women Are going to turn up As Hospital  it it s 8 Sod sell it is nonetheless a Sef ious one and one being repeated in various ways by hospitals around the United states. Faced with empty Beds the hospitals have turned to advertising and marketing campaigns to fill them pushing spending up fivefold on ads alone in the last three years. All told hospitals Are spending More than is billion a year to sell themselves to patients. During the last five years Hospital occupancy rates nationwide have dropped rom More Shan 75 percent where they sad hovered Lor a decade to the 1936 average of 63 percent. In Good part the falling rates have been caused by the Federal government s shift to a medicare reimbursement plan that makes it More profitable for hospitals to discharge patients quickly. But since hospitals with very Low occupancy rates run he risk of being shut Down As unneeded they Are competing Ever More desperately for patients and dreaming up increasingly elaborate marketing campaigns to woo them. The marketing Elt Orts have their share of critics. Some health policy experts for example say the new emphasis on marketing is unnecessarily driving up health costs furthermore they say As hospitals evolve into More aggressive advertisers using More specific medical claims and Quality comparisons the ads May become misleading. And Many doctors Are worried thai there is a very real danger that hospitals will thrive or die based on the Quality of their marketing efforts not the Quality of their health care. The whole thing turns my stomach said one doctor at a new York Hospital with an Active marketing department i cringe every Lime i see one of our ads. The administrators Here toll me it s important but i think hospitals ought to to striving for clinical excellence not  despite the misgivings hospitals Ike other formerly Low profile institutions such As universities and Law firms have begun Advertis no with o vengeance during the fast five years Selling Vliem serves on television and radio on buses and billboards. They Are oftring new amenities Loo candlelight dinners for new parents to shirts and blankets Tor new oms and concierge services gourmet menus and More stylish furniture for private patients. Same hospitals Are creating clubs like heal express a Lee memorial Hospital in fort Myers fla., whose 10,000 members get a membership card a discount on certain outpatient services and a steady Stream of mail from the Hospital which uses the club to build up and refine its mailing list other Hospi als have created trademarked Brand name product  at he Chain of hospitals owned by the Republic health corp., these include you re becoming cosmetic surgery gift of sight Cataract surgery step Lively podiatric surgery and impotency  Many hospitals now have neighbourhood centers often known As Doc in a Box Lor Cash customers who want Quick cheap medical attention for cuts colds and other problems not serious enough o warrant an emergency room visit. Many have also set up free physician referral services to attract new patients o specialists affiliated with the Hospital. A few hospitals Are even turning to the most Basic marketing technique of All. Price cuts most commonly by waiving he medicare deductions for in Pailien care of eligible senior citizens. Sunset Hospital in Las vegas probably the first in the nation to advertise at one Point years ago even went so far As to try to increase its weekend occupancy by holding a prize drawing for patients who checked in on Friday or saturday night and stayed until monday morning. The weekly puts a round trip recuperative cruise to the destination of the patient s Choice. St. Elizabeth which spends a bit less than 1 percent of its s93 million budget on marketing did so Well with body cues it has sponsored More than 60 parties a year for three years garnering extensive and glowing press coverage in the process thai in decided to Market its own marketing device. For $18,000. Other hospitals can buy he body cues package and give their own Home health parties. So far 13 hospitals have bought the package for a total of nearly a Quarter of a million dollars. Although the marketing budgets Lor individual hospitals still seem Small. The proliferation of programs has made the total figures soar. Last year hospitals nationwide spent 51.1 billion on marketing �500 million of which went to advertising according to sri Gallup Hospital Market research of Chicago. In 1985, total marketing costs were 700 million with $313 million for advertising. And in 1964, advertising expenditures were Only $104 million but the Field was so new that no one compiled total marketing costs now though Hospital advertising has become ail but Universal. According to sri Gallup 91 percent of the nation s hospitals used some advertising last year up from 64 percent Only a year earlier. The average Hospital spent about $102,000 on advertising last year but a Lew of the largest had advertising budgets of More than �1 million. The not for profit hospitals seem to be spending More on marketing than investor owned institutions with the average not for profit spending �104,500 Las year compared with �79,700 for the average shareholder owned Hospital. But sri Gallup cautions that the comparison May be misleading since most shareholder owned hospitals Are part of a Chain and marketing expenditures by the Parent corporation Are not included. It is Clear that marketing can. Help attract business in some cases tripling or quadrupling the number of patients coming to the Hospital for an advertised service. And Many of Trie nonprofit hospitals say their campaigns help to prompt bigger charitable donations. Marketing can also be used to offset negative publicity from High profile malpractice suits or regulatory problems. What is still a matter for debate is whether the increasing emphasis on marketing is Good As a matter of social policy. Supporters say that the More competitive environment will Lead to cheaper More accessible and better Quality services. Others disagree arguing that marketing simply adds to he High costs of health care. Good or bad Hospital marketing seems to be hers to stay and evolving into More sophisticated forms. Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday May 31,1987