up with focus project

a strategic plan for mission delivery

Purpose of the strategic plan The purpose of the plan is to increase utilization and better

integrate the following programs and services of The Society – Look Good…Feel Better, Road to Recovery and Reach to Recovery.

This will allow us to:• Have a more proactive and strategic position and act less

responsively to environments that we cannot control (i.e. high turnover, previous relationships with staff, etc.).

• Provide our resources effectively• Focus on highlighting shared opportunities within the 19

different counties in Area One.

Who are we reaching? Target

Who can give us what we want?

Who do we need on our side to get what we want?

• Cancer Center Directors and head of nursing departments

• Patient navigators • Affiliated oncologists

AudienceWho can influence the

decision makers?

• Patients• Caregivers• Peers

Cobb County’s IncomeNumerous studies show a link between

income and health. In general, the higher the income the healthier a person is

likely to be.

Snapshot of Cobb County

Market Segmentation The minority (non-white) population in Cobb has grown by 26.0% over the past 5

years.

Blacks made up 23.3% of the Cobb population in 2008.

In 2008, Hispanics comprised 11.7% of Cobb’s population, compared to 7.7% in Georgia and 15.1% in the U.S.

The Hispanic population in Cobb grew 33.8% from 2003-2008.

The male to female population in Cobb County is almost equal, with slightly more females (50.4%) compared to males (49.6%).

The median age in Cobb County is 36.3; males - 35.0 and females - 37.5.

The 40 - 49 year old age group makes up the largest percentage of all age groups in Cobb County, representing 16.6% of the population.

Over 1/4th of the population in Cobb County (28.6%) is under the age of 19.

Strategy and Implementation Overview

The strategy is based on nurturing a high profile and The Society’s name recognition within our communities through program development, public speaking, networking and promotional events.

These tools will be followed up with a communications strategy that relies on local media promotion, but also online community building. We will work with a local public relations firm, that will offer expertise through a pro bono partnership, to help guide our communications infrastructure and web marketing strategy through:

• Developing a voice for our Facebook pages and creating the best mix of content• How to compete for attention and take full advantage of emerging opportunities in social media• Community relations and outreach

Milestones in the form of monthly benchmark reports will help to keep the business plan priorities in place. This information is routinely provided by Pam Ashman.

What is our strategy? Marketing Materials:

• For all three key signature programs, brochures, posters, and DVDs will be made available to patients that visit our office. We will also provide information to the most relevant areas of patient services with our healthcare partners.

Networking/Promotional Events:• We will have to make contact with those groups that are

having the cancer conversation.

Increase Accessibility

Look Good…Feel BetterWhat are our challenges?

What has worked?

What are our challenges?• Lack of referrals to the program and usability of the program by cancer patients in

the area• Very little marketing of the program• Grasping an understanding of the oncology infrastructure of our healthcare partners

What worked?• In-service presentations to staff at hospitals and health system affiliates (i.e. 5

North, NGOC), in smaller communities (Pickens County, for example) press releases and front-page articles in local newspaper

What is the goal or vision?• Increase awareness and patient utilization• Set up programs to meet the needs of patients

Reach to RecoveryWhat are our challenges?

What has worked?

What are our challenges?• Lack of utilization of Reach volunteers• Among lowest average of referrals from healthcare partners, leading to loss of

patient acquisition• No long-standing visibility in the local community• Currently, patients do not stay in the hospital unless they have mastectomy and

reconstruction

What worked?• Extensive volunteer recruitment• In-service presentations given to healthcare partners with committed volunteers

What is the goal or vision?• Focus n breaking down barriers to patient referral

Road to RecoveryWhat are our challenges?

What has worked?

What are our challenges?• Among lowest average of referrals from healthcare partners, leading to loss of patient acquisition• Need for continuous recruitment of volunteers - one patient counts for a ride, regardless of number

of trips given by volunteers• Recruiting a coordinator for Road programs with 20 volunteers or more

What worked?• Extensive volunteer recruitment through featured pieces in the Marietta Daily Journal, Douglas

County Sentinel, etc.• Holding volunteer trainings in-house to better expedite the recruitment/placement process• Volunteers have demonstrated a preference for emails to receive requests for rides. Some receive

information via iPad or Blackberry. Melissa Garcia has worked with this system with great success

What is the goal or vision?• Continue to focus on volunteer recruitment• Focus primarily on breaking down barriers to patient referral

Networking/Promotional EventsLook Good…Feel Better

Develop a LGFB Community Ambassador Program

Comprised of survivors that have gone through the LGFB sessions (Information will be gathered from BOb reports).• Each county area can have a set of ambassadors and a coordinator that will

help identify places for the ambassadors to present.

• LGFB Community Ambassadors will not just talk about the class, but what they experienced and how it helped them (share their story).

• This will help build trust and differentiate ourselves from our competition (i.e. Chemoflage and Pink Heals). The Community Ambassador program will also help us become a part of the community and not just target a community.

LGFB COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM Make sure programs are established and ‘up and running’

in the county…• Where? Vinings, East Cobb, Douglas (Deer Lick Park)• Make sure cosmetologists are trained (Oct. 3rd)• Make sure location agreement is signed• Make sure dates and details are loaded on to CRC

Build, build, build the volunteer structure• Have intern (Amanda) find support

groups/choirs/book clubs/PTAs/Mom groups in our Metro Area – who is having the cancer conversation?

• Contact to determine if they will allow ambassadors to attend/speak at their meetings.

• Recruit Ambassadors living in the 5-county area (Cobb, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding, Pickens).

• Retrieve list of LGFB participants over a 3-year period.

• Email description of roles to participants. Networker – presenting to support groups or

attending health fairs / conferences Social Media Maverick – promote through

selected blogs, weekly postings on FB (need at least two postings a week; preferably Thurs/Fri; early morning or late afternoon)*

*These roles can not only include LGFB, but also be used to talk about Reach, as well.

Ongoing….• Intern to work with a selected volunteer to

coordinate schedule of events• Intern will also help track progress of

program and identify milestones through monthly reports

REACH TO RECOVERY Goal is to increase visibility of Reach (both the

program and volunteers) in the community• October – host Reach Roundtable at ACS

office to discuss taking on a more active role in the hospital setting.

Discuss Reach utilization rate (lack of) in our county area

Determine willingness to attend support group meeting and individual availability.

Reach volunteers will attend the meetings and use this as an opportunity to offer follow-up discussions with patients after the meetings. They will have Reach kit materials and the sign-in forms on hand, which they can send in to the call center.

• Already have approval from Lori Hall (navigator) to have a Reach volunteer present at every support group meeting.

• Meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of every month from 6pm – 7pm at Kennestone in the Camelia Room.

• Provide Lori with list of Reach volunteers so that she knows who will be in attendance.

QR CODE

How can we get the best use out of a QR Code? What do we want it to do?

• Drive constituents to our 1-800 number, or our ‘backdoor’ number. Why? Increase accessibility to patient programs (Reach,

Road, LGFB), financial transportation service offered through Division, and oncology social worker program.

• Drive constituents to the LGFB FB site, or ‘like’ the LGFB site. Why? Once at the site, they can get information on

upcoming sessions and be prompted to register by calling the 1-800 number.

• Create codes through qrstuff.com• Obtain quote from FastSigns of the cost of a sign to

place at front desk.• Signage to specify most requested services: Road to

Recovery, Dietician on Call.

• Nov – Dec, use the following locations as a pilot. Meet with contacts to get approval to post QR code at the front desk, in the back waiting room areas, or in the education rooms:

Doug Satterfield (WellStar Radiation Oncology)

NGOC (Kennestone location) Michael Rodriguez (GCS,

Paulding location) Falany & Hulse Women’s Center

(Cherokee Cty Relay Survivor Sponsor)

Why those areas, specifically, instead of using the code en masse?

• Use BOb reports to track referral source for a 2-month period to determine any growth.

• Can use mailchimp.com to track usage of codes

Networking/Promotional Events(cont’d)

Look Good…Feel Better

LGFB Community Ambassadors will target those groups that are having the cancer conversation and comprise the 40 - 49 year old age group makes up the largest percentage of all age groups in Cobb County.

Local support groups (particularly breast) Local choirs Book Clubs Local PTAs Hiking, jogging and walking groups Mom groups/Mom blog networks

Increase Accessibility…engagement

Look Good…Feel Better

Make it easy for customers/patients to engage with our business

• Create a QR code for LGFB so patients can easily access the LGFB web site and/or the ACS 1-800 number where they have access to session dates , locations, makeup tips, etc.

• To help send it out to the ‘real world’ QR Code can be printed out and added to our brochures and marketing materials, emailed to all Relay participants asking them to take action and send the code to a survivor, partnerships with local LGFB corporate supporters, etc.

Increase Accessibility…build, build, build.

Look Good…Feel Better

Where is the cancer conversation held in the Hispanic/Latino community?

• Use relationships with Cobb & Douglas Public Health to host a Luzca Bien…Siéntase Mejor program at the health departments for women they identify are fighting the disease.

Establish a LGFB session in both East and West Cobb, capturing patients and prevent losing them to other county areas.

Use LGFB volunteers that have been trained, but not assigned, a session location to work with: Advanced Breast Care of GA, Georgia Breast Care and the Breast Center of Georgia. These sites may not have space on-site, but we can offer scheduled one-on-one sessions with their patients.

LGFB Buzz Parties – Use certified LGFB volunteers to host sessions at local support groups. Survivors know survivors. Call to action by encouraging each participant to sign another survivor up for a session.

Increase Accessibility…Cancer Visitation Groups

Reach to Recovery

Work with Lori Hall, Breast Nurse Navigator to expand outreach:

• Establish a Reach to Recovery support group on-site at WellStar Kennestone Hospital and other healthcare sites.

• Develop program where trained Reach to Recovery volunteers visit patients during pre-admission testing before surgery. Visits will consist of:

Showing women the exercises that will help in the healing process. Volunteers can also bring a small pillow for propping up the arm and

informational brochures. Most importantly, they will offer a follow-up call to the patient.

Age and Operating Systems Share - Smartphones

According to Sparxoo, Boomers are jumping on the smartphone bandwagon to help with business and health. For instance, the Epocrates app is a resource for drugs information,

including doses, adverse reactions, pricing, and pill images alongside robust medical calculators

Increase Accessibility…Use Technology Available to Us

Create a QR code for Road to Recovery so patients can easily access the Division Service Center line (888-227-6333) where they have access to Cancer Information Specialists for the Road program.

The QR code can be used at the Cancer Resource Centers, Radiation Oncology front desks, Volunteer business cards,etc.