Healthcare
Outreach Strategists helps public health agencies, hospitals, and healthcare organizations reach communities, build trust, and improve health outcomes through strategic communications and community outreach.
What We Do
We develop and execute public health communications campaigns, community outreach programs, and media strategies that connect healthcare organizations with the populations they serve, including underserved and hard-to-reach communities. Our work spans public awareness campaigns, health equity initiatives, patient education, behavioral change communications, bond campaigns, crisis communications, and multilingual outreach.
Who We Work With
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Public health agencies
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Hospital systems and health districts
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Community health centers
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Health insurers
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Nonprofit health organizations
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County health departments
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Federal health agencies
Core Services
Research & Insights
Population health research, focus groups, surveys, and audience segmentation that guide outreach strategy and inform policy.
Public Relations & Crisis Communications
Media relations, earned media strategy, and rapid-response communications that protect reputation and strengthen public trust.
Community Outreach & Education
Multilingual, multicultural campaigns and training programs that inform and mobilize communities around public health priorities.
Media Relations & Advertising
Integrated paid and earned media campaigns across TV, radio, digital, OTT, and social media platforms.
Behavioral Change Communications
Evidence-based messaging strategies designed to shift health behaviors and improve outcomes.
Strategic Planning & Evaluation
Evidence-based strategic plans and program evaluation that help organizations track impact and improve results over time.
Meet Our Expert
Keri Myrick, Ph.D. — Vice President, Healthcare
Dr. Myrick has led public health initiatives for the Texas Department of State Health Services, Harris County Public Health, and Harris Health System. She specializes in population health, behavioral change, and research with vulnerable communities.
Contact
To learn more about our healthcare communications work, contact Dr. Keri Myrick at keri@outreachstrategists.com or call (713) 247-9600.
AARP- Strategic Communications
AARP is the largest membership organization in America.
Over the course of 10 years, our evolving role with AARP has ranged from strategic communications to building community and…
Harris Health System
Helped the Harris Health System navigate a 2.58 bond to renovate and rebuild its public hospitals, expand its network of clinics, and modernize lines of care. Voters approved Harris Health’s first-ever bond referendum by a 3 to 1 margin, the largest hospital district bond measure in Texas history…
Texas Department of State Health Services- Marketing- TV, Radio, Social Media
The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates among developed countries, as each year, about 3,500 infants die from sleep…
Some of our Healthcare clients have included:
Helped the Harris Health System navigate a 2.58 bond to renovate and rebuild its public hospitals, expand its network of clinics, and modernize lines of care.
Voters approved Harris Health’s first-ever bond referendum by a 3 to 1 margin, the largest hospital district bond measure in Texas history.
To support this initiative, the Outreach Strategists team:
- Advised Harris Health on increasing the bond amount;
- Engaged stakeholders, monitored media and legislative activity, crafted marketing materials, and
- Developed voter education and communication strategies.
AARP is the largest membership organization in America.
Over the course of 10 years, our evolving role with AARP has ranged from strategic communications to building community coalitions and implementing programs across Texas. On an ongoing basis we help AARP manage community engagement efforts, such as roundtable discussions, and provide local public affairs support in key markets.
Our efforts with the City of Houston on “Complete Streets” led to an executive order in October 2013, and our payday lending work resulted in an ordinance being adopted in December 2013.
Our findings from a report on the South Asian community of Greater Houston led to the creation of a non-profit focused on meeting the needs of seniors.
Partnership with AARP, a 38-million-member strong organization, making Houston a better place to live
Helped to cultivate a distinct brand for Harris County Resources, creating a positive public perception for the organization.
SCOPE
Harris County Resources for Children and Adults (formerly Harris County Protective Services) engaged Outreach Strategists to help launch a rebranding initiative to create a positive public perception for the agency, increase public awareness of the free services they provide to the community and to cultivate a distinct brand.
ROLE
Outreach Strategists began this rebranding initiative by engaging in a discovery process to inform research strategies. Informed and empowered with critical take-aways from this research, the Creative Team at Outreach Strategists designed content to elevate the understanding of Harris County Resources, increase trust, and ultimately increase brand awareness. With input from key stakeholders including staff, board and community input, our team employed an iterative process to develop a new logo, a messaging guide, and a communications strategy. A formal brand manual was developed as well as new collateral for the organization and guidance for launching the brand on social media and in other digital spaces.
OUTCOMES
Harris County Resources for Children and Adults is now positioned to reach more individuals and reduce previous confusion on who they are and the services they provide.
Outreach Strategists’ work is helping Harris County Resources fashion a distinct and effective brand with the public, manage their interactions with the press and generate earned and digital media coverage.
Estella Olguin, Senior Communications Manager shared the following feedback about Outreach Strategists’ rebranding work:
“We love our new logo. Across the board. Everyone loves it and is excited about using it!”
“Having consistency with our brand, all over the organization– on our website, business cards, email signatures, are very important. As soon as people walk in the door, it all flows together and we love that!”
Joel Levine, Executive Director, said,
“One unexpected outcome of this rebranding initiative is that it has improved morale among our staff. People on our team are feeling more a part of the agency and are prouder to be able to say who they work for and what they do. In a time when staff can’t get salary increases, the morale is that much more important.”
“We are changing a culture that has over half a century of history. Changing that is going to take some time—but having people on board to do that is exciting!”
AMA Crystal award finalist
AARP is the largest membership organization in America.
Over the course of 10 years, our evolving role with AARP has ranged from strategic communications to building community coalitions and implementing programs across Texas. On an ongoing basis we help AARP manage community engagement efforts, such as roundtable discussions, and provide local public affairs support in key markets.
Our efforts with the City of Houston on “Complete Streets” led to an executive order in October 2013, and our payday lending work resulted in an ordinance being adopted in December 2013.
Our findings from a report on the South Asian community of Greater Houston led to the creation of a non-profit focused on meeting the needs of seniors.
Partnership with AARP, a 38-million-member strong organization, making Houston a better place to live
Scope
The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates among developed countries, as each year, about 3,500 infants die from sleep-related deaths. Research and science repeatedly show that the adoption of continuous breastfeeding and the implementation of safe infant sleep practices are linked to reducing sleep-related deaths.
Role
In an effort to reduce the number of infant deaths and to educate and support new moms on the benefits of breastfeeding using Safe Infant Sleep (SIS) practices, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), in partnership with Outreach Strategists (OS), launched a statewide marketing initiative to engage communities around safe infant sleep and breastfeeding practices. The campaign was on television, radio and digital across the state.
To reach a broad base audience across Texas, the OS’ team employed a bilingual digital campaign geo-targeted to reach high-risk areas for infant mortality, caregivers, health partners, hospital leaders, obstetrics- serving and children’s hospitals. The campaign ran across Meta platforms; Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn, programmatic display ads, over-the-top television (OTT) and T.V. and radio ads.
The campaign achieved the goal of reaching across the state of Texas to share critical infant sleep safety messages and breastfeeding resources with parents as well as caregivers and healthcare providers to save the lives of babies.
Results
A total of 3,502 TV spots ran on 15 stations in English and Spanish, including Fox, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, and Univision affiliates across Texas Nearly 4,000 total radio spots ran on 15 English and Spanish stations, including 104.5 FM Latin Hits, Majic 93.3 and more.
Scope
The US has high infant mortality rates, with around 3,500 sleep-related infant deaths annually. To improve infant health outcomes in Texas, the Department of State Health Services and Outreach Strategists conducted market research with the following goals:
Increase awareness and uptake of breastfeeding support practices; and
Increase awareness and dissemination of evidence-based protective factors and risk reduction strategies for infant sleep safety. Key audiences for this work included parents and other infant caregivers, publvic health partners, employers, healthcare providers and hospital systems.
Role
Outreach Strategists’ research team studied current care standards, challenges, and opportunities for a comprehensive solution, including existing statewide and national campaigns promoting breastfeeding and safe infant sleep. The team’s recommendations were based on research-based best practices.
Outreach Strategists’ market research process consisted of:
Conducting a landscape analysis to evaluate current practices, regulations, goals, and results relating to breastfeeding and safe infant sleep at the international, national, and state levels, as reported by public health institutions.
Aggregating and synthesizing the standards and best practices urged by public health agencies and advocacy organizations in the areas of breastfeeding and safe infant sleep.
Identifying and cataloging existing awareness efforts by state and local health organizations seeking to promote better health outcomes.
Reviewing messaging content and audience targeting to identify best practices for ongoing communication strategies, including LinkedIn, programmatic display ads, over-the-top television (OTT), TV, and radio ads.
Results
The 76-page report examined previous campaigns promoting breastfeeding support practices and safe infant sleep recommendations, identifying methods to build support for health-promoting practices. It revealed the need for education and engagement of everyone in a child’s ecosystem and encouraged institutions to model and support these practices. The report informed a statewide bilingual social media and digital campaign, including social media ads, videos, TV, and radio ads targeting caregivers, public health partners, and hospital leaders.
Designed and managed an innovative grass-tops community healthcare coalition for the state’s largest insurer
BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurer in Texas, approached Outreach Strategists to educate the public about their coverage options under the recently passed Affordable Care Act. We organized community leaders across major markets to help provide Texans with more information and resources. Community partners were supplied talking points, collateral materials, and social media content, which drove engagement to constituents. The campaign directly reached over 670,000 people and an additional 1.5 million were exposed to social media content.
