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You have to care to truly succeed at anything.
I'm a health system growth leader…
I'm a health system growth leader…
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Rob Gerdon posted thisI’m inspired by reading so many of the thoughtful #HCIC26 recap posts. How can I possibly add to what has already been said? Maybe by sharing a few highlights of my conference experience? First, I’m not exaggerating when I say: I laughed… I cried … I learned … I celebrated … I played … I connected. I laughed harder than I can remember ever in my last 13 years of attending the conference. I’m smiling and laughing again out loud as I’m writing this. Rachelle Montaño and Jared Johnson thanks for the laughs- so fun to have shared that moment with you. 🤣🐦⬛ I cried after hearing the story of a dear friend, who only a few months ago, was moments away from not being with us on this earth anymore. The thought of her being gone, and the gratefulness I have she is still with us, just completely overwhelmed me. I hugged her with my arms and my heart, held on tight, and let her know that I love her. 🤗 I learned that it’s important to tell people what’s on your heart, what you see in them, and how what they said, what they did, or who they are, makes you feel. Just let them know and don’t hold back. It’s really OK! 👌 There is nothing like a good story to hold an audience. I loved Pamela Landis’ keynote and how she wove the Space Shuttle Challenger Mission story into her talk! It was fascinating and engaging! 🚀 I celebrated along with so many of the marketing teams who are well-deserving of their awards and recognition. Your jobs are not easy, and your work is so important. Still hearing Woohoos and shakers in my mind! 👏 Congrats to these amazing leaders: Chrisie Scott , John A. Eudes Vision & Excellence Award recipient, Linda Ho, Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame Induction, and Kristen Dalton, Rising Star honoree! 🏆 Congrats Kathy Divis and Michael Schneider on 30 incredible years! What an accomplishment. HCIC has continued to be one of my favorites! 🥳 Played some highly competitive pickleball with my friend Chad Tamplin. Who knew that playing outside in the wind would add a whole new challenge to the game? Interesting that we learned to use the wind to our advantage. (Hmm, I see a metaphor there for data privacy and digital marketing tracking & performance) 🤔 Hit some golf balls (at least attempted to) at the driving range with a 100+ fun loving healthcare marketers. Congrats to my friend Christa McAlpin for winning a trophy! ⛳️ I connected for the first time in person with my friend Amanda Todorovich, FACHE , who I deeply respect and admire. So much fun to meet IRL! 🤩 Had many productive meetings and conversations with some pretty incredible clients, future clients, and partners. The sessions are great for learning, and so are all the hallway conversations, coffee chats, and exchanging of knowledge in the exhibit hall! 🤓 My heart is full. I’m exhausted. Will be going back into my shell for a bit and hopefully I’ll be back out in a few days. 🐢 Too many amazing people to possibly mention, but will add in the comments. 🫶
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Rob Gerdon shared thisAfter much reflection, and realizing my personal brand is me, I’m just putting it out here… I’m a tortoise. At least, that’s what I said when someone recently asked me, “What’s your spirit animal?” Funny, I’d never been asked that before. And even funnier, within a few weeks of saying that, I found this little guy being guarded by my neighbor in the road just outside my driveway. Glad my neighbor stopped. With the height of my truck, I don’t think I would have seen him. What makes me a tortoise? 🐢 Deep connection in relationships matters most to me, which requires taking time and slowing down. 🐢 I’m social, but also an introvert. 🐢 I often retreat inside my shell when I don’t feel safe. 🐢 I feel like I’m different, and not necessarily equipped to win the races I have found myself in. It can often look and feel like I’m losing, or being passed by. Can you be a tortoise and still win in a fast-paced work world? Can you be a tortoise and post on LinkedIn? I think you can. It just may look different and feel different. I have a track record of finishing what I start, and winning when it looks unconventional. It’s not always easy being a tortoise, but it’s who I am, and I’m embracing it… shell and all.
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Rob Gerdon posted thisI have no idea what my personal brand is. I pretty much post what’s on my mind when it’s on my mind. No planning. No facade. No worries. (Anymore) I just show up. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Showing up? Just showing up and putting something out here and engaging with others. It’s about knowing people and being known… and learning from each other, and enjoying each other. I guess my brand is me. And that’s good enough.
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Rob Gerdon posted thisI left my heart in San Francisco… My electric razor in Salt Lake City, My box of business cards in Boston, My bottle of conditioner in Seattle, My charging brick in Baltimore, And my fingernail clippers in Rockford. This may be hyperbole, but it’s closer to reality than I’d like to admit. Here’s to hoping I leave nothing behind but warm smiles, encouraging words, and a bit of sound marketing compliance advice in Orlando soon! Looking forward to seeing you at #HCIC26!!!
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Rob Gerdon shared thisGreat explanation of data privacy in healthcare marketing by Adam Putterman.Rob Gerdon shared thisPrivacy in healthcare marketing has gotten so complicated that I think it’s useful to overly simplify into 3, overlapping buckets. This isn’t perfect, but is usually a good starting point: 1/ Consent management (driven by state privacy laws): Can patients understand and control how their online behavior is tracked and shared? 2/ Data sharing (driven by HIPAA/OCR): Can you keep PHI from reaching destinations where it shouldn’t go / that you do not have a BAA with? 3/ Privacy policies (drive by the FTC): Does what you say match what you actually do? Where it gets tricky is the overlapping nature, i.e., you can get any two right and still have a problem. E.g., you can honor consent and protect PHI, but have an inaccurate privacy policy. E.g., you can protect PHI and accurately disclose your practices, but fail to honor someone's opt-out. E.g., you can have accurate disclosures and honor consent, but still send PHI somewhere it shouldn't go. And as always, the higher level challenge is making all three work together without turning off the marketing infrastructure the business depends on. At Ours Privacy we think about this sort of unified, interlocking set of problems every day and have tools that can enable you to solve them all. I wrote about this in more depth at the link in the comments. And as always, this type of thing is just a starting point for a conversation with your legal / compliance teams and you should never take a LinkedIn post as legal advice :)
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Rob Gerdon shared thisExciting opportunity with a fantastic team!Rob Gerdon shared thisWe’re hiring! Know anyone who might be interested? We're hiring two communications strategists. As we build an academic health system, these strategists will help leaders and teams communicate through major initiatives and periods of growth. They’ll advise project leaders, shape communications from planning through implementation, and make complex changes to systems, processes, roles, and services clear and actionable for employees, patients and partners. They’ll also keep an eye on the bigger picture—spotting where initiatives overlap and bringing in the right colleagues across MarComm. This role requires the ability to be a strategist but also produce strong written communications. We're especially interested in experienced communicators who have helped organizations navigate rapid change and growth. Healthcare experience is a significant advantage. We’d love to find someone in Central Texas but will consider remote candidates with deep healthcare communications experience. If you know someone who'd be a great fit, please contact me. If you think you'd be a great fit, apply! (I can't respond to every candidate who sends me a message on Linkedin expressing interest.)
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Rob Gerdon shared thisI had the chance to say a few words at the #WHPRMS26 awards dinner. It was an honor to attend and be welcomed by such a warm and close-knit group of healthcare marketers and their trusted partners. For me, the awards were very special. From the personal chats and getting to know those at my table, to seeing an award recipient truly surprised and moved to tears by how her team and marketing community honored her for her sacrificial service and excellence in her work, I experienced authenticity and care in that room. I could feel it. Healthcare marketing is rarely glamorous. It's in-the-trenches work most of the time. Seeing peers recognize each other, lift each other up, and celebrate their successes in that way is something I will remember. I spoke briefly about trust, and how healthcare marketers, more than ever before, are in a position to help their organizations regain trust that has been eroding through several outside forces and a culture-shift. Following the Paid, Earned and Owned framework we are all familiar with for media, and very thoughtfully applied to consumer search by my friend Chris Pace, I talked about how this framework applies to consumer trust with healthcare providers. PAID TRUST is our top of funnel advertising. It's actually more borrowed or rented. It's that bit of trust a healthcare consumer gives us when they click on an ad, link or QR code. EARNED TRUST is the experiences they have after that first click and while they engage with us online and offline. It's our reputation, did we meet their needs, did we make things easier, did we do it with care and empathy? OWNED TRUST is our stewardship of the relationship. It's our responsibility to ensure we are respectful, thoughtful, and doing everything we can to preserve and grow the relationship. A common thread that runs through online experiences from first visit to the website, and all the way through to a completed patient encounter, is respect and care for the information we collect and track on consumers throughout the process. We all want to do our jobs well. We want to be efficient. We want to be good stewards of marketing resources. We want to better understand and connect consumers to the best care and experiences we know how. When we do it not just compliantly, but also thoughtfully, and with care, that is how we regain trust. My heartfelt thanks to those involved in putting together the conference and the many of you I had the joy to connect with! Cherie Morgan, Cassondra Bramstedt, Sophia Zey, Steph Graham, Michelle Martin, Monica Cicci, Kate McLoughlin, Chuck Moore, Laura Reed 💡, Elizabeth Foster Cynthia Stewart, MHA, Hilary Frank, Brandy Steely, Craig Stewart, Christina Hodgson Emily Hartzog, Jaymee Barra, Randy McDaniels, Heidi Apperson, Sarah Kinkade,Travis Baumgarten, Brad Muncs, Patrick Upton, Preston Smith, Shannon Cummins, Kathryn Hitchcock, Joe Stella, Rod Holmes, Melissa Placzkowski, Whit Thompson, Rene Ryan, Kate Kallenberger
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Rob Gerdon shared thisAs we think about trust in healthcare, look at what was left out at the WHPRMS (Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society) / ISHMPR bi-state conference. If a large group of healthcare marketers can be trusted with this haul, they most certainly can be trusted resources of health information online. I rest my case!
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Rob Gerdon shared thisI’m excited for the 2026 WHPRMS (Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society) Bi-State Conference that kicks off tonight in Rockford, Illinois. I'm sitting here this morning at the Rockford Roasting company, enjoying a tasty mocha, and thinking about what's ahead this week. Its my first time attending this conference, which brings together the Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Society (WHPRMS) and Illinois Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations (ISHMPR). From reviewing the lineup of sessions, there appears to be a common thread running through almost everything being talked about this week. More marketing activity is not a substitute for more meaningful marketing activity. More meaningful includes: 🧡 Better measurement 🧡 Better prioritization 🧡 More authentic stories 🧡 Fewer meaningless website projects 🧡 Better behavior-change messaging 🧡 Better attribution 🧡 Less content for content’s sake I’m especially excited to attend my colleague Sophia Zey's session on Privacy and measurement. She’ll be talking about rebuilding the capabilities marketers lost, but can regain through the use of privacy-first tracking, consent and CDP infrastructure. GO SOPHIA!!!! Other sessions that intrigue me are: “How Healthcare Website Teams Decide What Not to Build.” With Brad Muncs of Symetris. “The Seven Deadly Sins of Healthcare Marketing.” With Shannon Cummins and Claire Winegar of Unlock Health. “What’s Keeping Marketing Leaders Up at Night?” A panel discussion with Kate McLaughlin of Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Paige Rother of Tamarack Health, Heidi Apperson of Kirby Medical Center and Elizabeth Foster of CGH Medical Center, moderated by Travis Baumgarten of Mile Bluff Medical Center and Emily Hartzog. I’m looking forward to seeing friends and making new friends this week! I hope to see you there!
Rob Gerdon replied to a comment
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Tien Le that’s what people keep telling me, including you! Appreciate your supportive words! 🫶
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Rob Gerdon liked thisRob Gerdon liked thisThis is what the highlight reel looks like. Dublin. A guest lecture at Trinity. My wife beside me. A great week. Here's what the photo doesn't show: in the past month I've had multiple polite no's. "Not at this time." "We'll keep your profile on file." "Not selected." A few years ago, a month like that would have convinced me I was in over my head. This time, I'm treating it differently: 1. A no is information, not a verdict. Most are about timing, budget or fit. 2. Keep the door open. A short, gracious reply often matters more than the pitch. 3. Count reps, not results. Every pitch makes the next one sharper. The “yes’s” get the photos. The no's do most of the teaching. That's Practiced Confidence℠ in real life: not feeling 100% certain, just continuing to show up. What's a "no" that ended up pointing you somewhere better? #PracticedConfidence #Leadership #PortfolioCareer #Resilience
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Rob Gerdon reacted on thisHappy Halloween 🎃 👻Rob Gerdon reacted on thisThe scary stuff in healthcare is what patients run into when they try to book care: Hold music on loop at minute 14. "Someone will call you back." Nobody does. A referral sitting in the fax tray since Tuesday. A web form submitted Friday night, opened Monday afternoon. The patient who gives up and never calls a second time. Each of those is a person who raised their hand and heard nothing back. Our Sherpas spend every day making sure those moments end with an answer. Costume optional. Happy Halloween from the AlpacaPac. #Halloween #CareSherpa #PatientAccess #PatientExperience
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Rob Gerdon reacted on thisRob Gerdon reacted on this30th Anniversary !!! Every year it is an honor to get Kathy Divis on camera to share her thoughts on the HCIC conference. At #HCIC26 this took on special meaning. This is the 30th conference! Here's what Kathy had to say. Thank you Kathy for all you do and for building this wonderful community. cc Greystone.Net #HealthcareMarketing #SwaayHealth
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Rob Gerdon liked thisRob Gerdon liked thisI was so honored to lead a panel of heatlhcare marketing leaders at #HCIC this week, and the feedback has been terrific. Thank you, Kathy Divis and Michael Schneider, for inviting me to speak. And of course, thank you to our fantastic panel: John Davey, Julie Spencer Washington, Kathy Smith, and Val Lopez.
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Rob Gerdon reacted on thisRob Gerdon reacted on thisI might be biased, but Taryn Taltavull, Emalee Rabon, and John Driscoll delivered the best HCIC Master Class session at this year's conference. This one went beyond theory. This talented trio talked openly about what’s delivering results, where things have fallen short, and the lessons picked up along the way. The audience brought their own sharp questions and real-world perspective, and the conversation was better for it.
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Healthcare Communicators of Oregon
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Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development
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