Kelso Communications (Kcomm) has spent much of 2020 in the belly of the COVID-19 beast, as the primary communications partner of Tryon Medical Partners, the largest independent physicians group in the Carolinas. Like many other agencies, we have been working through what to say about our experience with COVID-19, and when to say it. We have a unique perspective to share about our privilege supporting front line medical workers in the face of a pandemic.
As Tryon Medical Partners’ agency of record from the inception of the practice, Kcomm has played a pivotal role in brand development, messaging, patient communications and public relations. Even before the practice opened its doors on September 5, 2018, Kcomm has worked with physicians and leadership staff to differentiate the independent practice, founded on the principle that stronger relationships lead to better health. From the Tryon Medical Partners logo to the website photography and award-winning digital strategy, all communication and content is rooted in honesty, warmth and encouragement. As we faced the unprecedented challenge of communicating in a pandemic, we stayed true to these ideals – thinking first and foremost of how to strengthen and support the patient-doctor relationship.
In the early weeks of coronavirus communication, we released information via Tryon Medical’s “Health Hacks” email newsletter and dedicated a page of its website to COVID-19 updates and FAQs, updated daily, with relevant links to the CDC and NCDHHS. As we told patients to “put aside panic and prepare,” Tryon Medical’s coronavirus task force was stockpiling PPE, troubleshooting “drive-through” testing and drafting protocols for staff to follow. We defined and continued to refine what patients and the public would need to know in worst-case scenarios. By the time coronavirus was confirmed in Charlotte on March 12, we had patient-facing email drafts ready for review and a press release prepared to announce Tryon Medical’s first remote testing site to keep COVID-19 out of the offices, and healthy patients safe.
Four days later, Tryon Medical opened one of Charlotte’s first satellite COVID-19 testing sites at an abandoned Rite Aid. Again, an early-morning patient email dropped hours before the media was notified that patient testing would start at noon. We knew the media would be hungry to localize this global story, with easy outdoor shots of people “getting swabbed” in a parking lot. It was important that we helped the media tell the story of COVID-19 testing, without divulging patient privacy or contributing to the anxiety of the sick and scared. In two hours, we filmed, edited and distributed an electronic press kit of Tryon Medical’s first remote testing clinic.
In the weeks that followed, in-office visits for well patients converted almost entirely to virtual visits in compliance with North Carolina’s stay-at-home order. With so few office staff needed and no COVID-19 end in sight, Tryon Medical made the gut-wrenching decision to lay off 25% of its staff. We communicated that news to the media with transparency and industry insight. When the doctors determined it was safe for patients to return to the offices for their annual wellness checks, we changed gears immediately telling the story of Terry Brown, a patient whose annual wellness check revealed an asymptomatic and potentially life-threatening condition. Terry’s story and “Five Reasons to Schedule Your In-Person Annual Wellness Check” have registered more than 10,000 pageviews.
Our communications team continues to respond to countless requests from the media on everything from antibody testing to COVID-19 pool safety. We earned more than 200 media placements and registered in excess of 100,000 pageviews on our COVID-19 webpage. Our email communications average open rates around 50%, and patients often post messages in appreciation of our communications balancing the honesty and reassurance they have come to expect from their Tryon Medical care teams.
As the pandemic progressed, it became challenging to discern whether or not it was appropriate to communicate non-COVID-19 topics. We surveyed doctors to see what issues were of most concern to their patients. The results were clear: patients were struggling with their mental health, depression, anxiety and isolation. We worked with a Tryon Medical physician double-boarded in internal medicine and psychiatry on a May 19 Facebook Live event titled, “Tryon Talks: Mental Health in a Pandemic.” Feedback was extraordinarily positive and the broadcast earned 1,100 views on Facebook alone.
Throughout the summer, our communications have balanced keeping patients updated on COVID-19 with helping them find a new normal. From “Face Mask 101” to COVID-19 safe travel tips, our resource articles, patient profiles and social media content continue to receive thousands of pageviews.
This fall, we eagerly await confirmation that our next message will be welcome news to the whole world: that Tryon Medical and their clinical partners will have found a COVID-19 vaccine.