Two Thumbs Up for Health Center Online Videos
By Lindsey (Reynolds) Ruivivar
I have noticed a lot of health centers are now using video to promote their services, introduce staff to the community (and the whole world!), advertise upcoming events, and much more. NACHC has also posted videos on its YouTube channel (NACHCmedia) National Health Center Week events. I wanted to highlight some recent videos that have caught my eye.
First on my list has to be President Obama himself announcing nearly $600 million in grants to Community Health Centers. This video, which shows the President praising Community Health Centers, has been circulating on the web and as of this writing has been viewed over 11,000 times. While this is, of course, a professional video from the event, it is a great example of the power of online video and great exposure for health centers. However, you can use the power of online video from the comfort of your own health center.
This video posted by Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC) in Lawrence, Massachusetts is a perfect example. The entire video is almost 10 minutes. The attention span of the typical YouTube viewer is really only 2-3 minutes, but in this video Dr. Lilia Cardenas shares her very moving story of becoming a physician to honor her Latina heritage and her discovery of Community Health Centers and the joy of serving patients as a primary care physician. GLFHC produced the video in-house and can now use this physician testimonial for workforce recruitment. What better spokesperson for your health center’s recruitment efforts than a happy doctor willing to share her story!
Here are some other health center videos I recommend:
NACHC Field Representative Lynn Williams thanks U.S. Representative Jim Cooper for his support of health centers in this 52 second video and captures him voicing his support for Community Health Centers!
Care Alliance health center in Cleveland, Ohio, used this marketing video YouTube and Facebook to share the health center’s mission and give an overview of its services. It includes interviews with health center staff, the Board president, and patients.
Hudson River Healthcare, Inc. in New York has launched a great video series featuring testimonials from their staff and patients; check out their YouTube channel here or visit them on Facebook here.
Erie Family Health Services in Chicago, Illinois, has been innovative in using videos and is utilizing Vimeo, the latest trend in online video sharing. Check out the videos they have been posting here. You may have seen Erie’s President and CEO, Dr. Lee Francis, in this recent video circulated by NACHC. The video was captured in less than 30 minutes with a FlipCam, proving you don’t need to be high-tech or spend hours to create meaningful video messages for your health center.
From advocacy, to workforce recruitment, to patient testimonials, to fundraising, sharing video online is a potentially very powerful form of communication. Has your health center been using video? Does your health center have a YouTube account? How and where have you been sharing video online? Please comment to let us, and all our readers, know how you are using online video!
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