Today, nearly 13 years later, its Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery stands as one of the busiest robotic surgery programs in the Chicago metro area — and among the top three in the Midwest. With seven da Vinci robots and more than 20,000 procedures completed, the program is a leader in robotic-assisted care.
Becker’s Healthcare spoke with Silver Cross leaders Marybeth Antone, BSN, RN, vice president of clinical operations, and Debra Robbins, director of marketing and communications, to explore how their marketing strategy has fueled the program’s growth and positioned it as an industry frontrunner.
Improving the patient experience at Silver Cross Hospital
Customer satisfaction is a high priority for Silver Cross Hospital, and it forms the foundation of everything the organization does.
“People expect excellent care when they go to a hospital, but we do it with a personal touch. Our brand tagline is, ‘The way you should be treated,'” Ms. Antone said. Silver Cross Hospital invested in its robotic surgery program to enhance patient care. “Our da Vinci patients recover faster, experience less pain and face fewer complications compared to patients treated laparoscopically or with an open surgical approach.”
To raise awareness and educate patients on how da Vinci surgery works and the benefits, Silver Cross Hospital launched a marketing campaign showcasing the skilled surgeons who utilize da Vinci systems for patient care.
A key pillar of the marketing initiative was establishing the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery, which sets Silver Cross apart from other hospitals offering robotic surgery. Surgeons qualify to join the Institute based on their case volume within their specialty and performance on key quality metrics, including Press Ganey scores.
The team saw the tagline, “Safety in (our) numbers” as a natural fit for the Institute. “We wanted to tell a patient centric story and show how the technology impacts lives,” Ms. Antone said.
Multichannel marketing: a proven strategy for growth
To help fuel the growth of Silver Cross Hospital’s robotic surgery program, the marketing team has taken a multichannel approach. In addition to paid digital and print advertising, Silver Cross uses social media to engage with the community.
“Our surgeons at the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery are influencers in their own right,” Ms. Robbins said. “When Dr. Reza Gamagami performed his 5,000th case with the da Vinci robot, we had a huge celebration for him and shared it on social media. Not only was this an opportunity to highlight his procedure milestone, but it also gave us the opportunity to tell the story of those 5,000 cases in terms of quality metrics like reducing length of stay in the hospital, less pain after surgery, and lower hospital readmissions. That video alone got more than 40,000 views and growing.”
Silver Cross also utilizes other formats to educate patients, including video and audio podcasts, as well as lectures where surgeons discuss the advantages of robotic surgery with members of the community. “We’ve had da Vinci surgeons lecture for 30 minutes and then end up answering questions from patients for over an hour. They instantly get new patients as a result of these events,” Ms. Antone said.
Silver Cross Hospital has hosted successful hernia screening events during Hernia Awareness Month. “Through patient marketing, we raised awareness around the symptoms of a hernia and invited the community to attend an event where a surgeon would do a 15-to-20-minute lecture on hernias,” Ms. Robbins said. “At the same time, three other surgeons were screening attendees. We see high attendance to these events, and participating surgeons always gain new cases.
When the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery acquired Intuitive’s latest soft tissue robot, the da Vinci 5, the Silver Cross marketing team launched a campaign to educate the community. The first step was an internal announcement, shared through Silver Cross Hospital’s weekly CEO message and chief medical officer update.
“We then built off of that internal momentum, issuing a press release, updating our website and sharing the news on social media,” Ms. Robbins said. “Kudos to Intuitive because they gave us so much great background material to leverage as we made our announcements.”
A key element of Silver Cross Hospital’s da Vinci 5 marketing campaign was a Facebook video capturing the arrival of the new robot. The video highlighted the hospital’s commitment to cutting-edge technology and innovation.
“We were getting this incredibly powerful new tool, so we wanted to showcase it from the time it arrived, including the unpacking, and seeing staff gathering excitedly around it. People on Facebook thought it was very exciting,” Ms. Robbins said. “Generating a buzz around new technology created high engagement and is now paving the way for future campaigns focused on how Silver Cross leverages this technology to improve patient experience and care.”
Empowering the marketing team is critical to success
To effectively market a robotic surgery program, the first step is to find an executive champion who understands the value of the da Vinci robotic surgery system, as well as the value of marketing and relationship-building.
Beyond believing in the technology, it’s also essential for hospital leaders to allocate resources and align key stakeholders to support the marketing program. At the helm for Silver Cross’s da Vinci marketing strategy was their chief strategy officer. She championed the launch of the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery as a growth strategy, integrated the marketing team into their da Vinci program’s governance, and fostered connections between the clinical and marketing teams to build impactful and engaging content.
Another best practice is connecting the marketing team with physicians. Silver Cross Hospital’s marketers have built relationships with the surgeons and feel comfortable reaching out to them.
“They know who we are, and where we can add value, and that builds credibility for our marketing team as a whole,” Ms. Robbins said. “Our surgeons appreciate what we do for them because they see the impact and as a result, are proactively engaging with us on content creation. It’s so important for them to know that we’re working on their behalf.” In addition to educating the community and patients, there is also a need to educate the referring physician audience. Primary care physicians and other specialists are often referring their patients to surgeons, so it is important that these physicians understand the value of da Vinci surgery for their patients as well.
Preparing to build a program — not just a robotics offering
Before marketing a robotic surgery program, hospitals and health systems must be sure they’re ready to accept the patients that will inevitably come seeking care. That means developing a comprehensive robotics program with clinical and operational excellence. The importance of surgeon access and capacity to grow can’t be underestimated.
“I would be reluctant to market a program if I only had one physician champion or one high volume surgeon,” Ms. Antone said. Silver Cross Hospital has seen steady growth in robotic surgery adoption and year-over-year growth in robotic surgery procedures. “There are many ways that Intuitive helps us operationalize more efficiently, and marketing is one of them,” Ms. Antone said. “We’ve been able to grow our program very successfully, due in large part to our partnership with Intuitive. They’re not just a vendor; they’re a partner.”
The da Vinci technology platform has helped improve Silver Cross Hospital’s reputation in the community. HealthGrades has ranked Silver Cross No. 1 in surgical care in Illinois for two years running. “Although we are a community hospital, we are viewed as a regional medical center due to the services we provide,” Ms. Antone said.
For Silver Cross Hospital, Intuitive’s da Vinci robotic surgery technology has revolutionized the way the institution provides care to patients. The success of the robotic surgery program has been bolstered by effective marketing — of the technology, the surgeons, and the hospital.
