The county-owned hospital, which has been plagued with a bad reputation since it opened in 2002, is hoping the marketing campaign will boost its bottom line and improve its market position by 2014 when millions of Americans become insured under the new healthcare reform law.
The hospital’s biggest critics have long complained that the hospital is dirty and healthcare quality is substandard, echoing similar complaints about public hospitals across the country. However, county officials and hospital leaders, including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, are hoping to alter the hospital’s image by marketing its renowned burn unit and trauma center and private birthing rooms, among other services.
However, skeptics are unsure Stroger Hospital will prevail in its marketing efforts because Chicago’s medical district is already heavily saturated with hospitals. What’s more, a majority of the hospital’s poor and uninsured patient base travels from far distances to receive care. When healthcare reform goes into effect, those patients may opt for closer local hospitals in their own neighborhoods, they argued.
Read the Chicago Tribune report about Stroger Hospital’s marketing campaign.
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