CHAPTER 27 Public Relations: A Tool for Success

Erin Terjesen

FROM REMOTE RURAL TOWNS to major metropolitan areas, the United States has seen explosive growth in the number of urgent care center openings since the early 2000s. Despite this increase, many urgent care centers and networks have been slow to include public relations (PR) in their collection of communication tools to position these centers as easy, fast, high-quality, and affordable solutions for nationwide health care.

Whether your vision is to operate an urgent care business as a single-location practice or as part of a multistate health provider network, using PR and best practices for working with the media are critical. Your urgent care center must establish awareness within the business and local communities, positioning its medical expertise and the range of solution-oriented health-care services that it can offer.

Using PR to gain local or national media attention is both a cost-effective and results-oriented practice that will build your business and brand, as well as help patients to distinguish your urgent care center from the competition. As a key element to your business operations, PR services can be managed in partnership with a sole PR practitioner or a PR agency, or with an internal full-time and media-trained resource.

The most critical goals for executing strategic PR efforts as part of an urgent care center’s communications tool set include the opportunity to

Establish or raise awareness of the urgent care center as an innovative and patient-friendly health-care delivery channel

Promote the expertise and level of care patients will receive

Position your urgent care center’s medical leadership as subject-matter experts on medical or regulatory affairs

Every urgent care center is well equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and a talented, highly qualified staff, but if patients or potential patients do not know about the solutions, convenience, expertise, and customer service an urgent care center provides patients every day, the business may suffer if new patients are not seeking you out.

For urgent care practices, incorporating strategic, consistent, and properly supported PR efforts will provide exposure by writing and pitching news-related stories.