Why NESHCo?

 By Jill McDonald Halsey, APR, NESHCo President

CMO, Lawrence General Hospital
 

Having recently gone through a long search for my next career move, I have some new insights about the value of my membership in the New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo).  I had worked at a single organization, on both the health system and the hospital side for 20 years.  The idea of picking myself up and going somewhere else was both tantalizing and terrifying.

Having numerous familiars at NESHCo who had recently been through this daunting experience, I found lots of support and role modeling. I hadn't put together a resume in 20 years (and six months!) I needed some reality checks on that document and I used my NESHCo colleagues as editors and critics. They suggested additions to my skill list that I had not thought of, and recommended reordering the list to make sure that skills they had found were the most sought-after were near the top of the list.

I found my NESHCo colleagues willing to connect me with people who were willing to connect me with people, and so on. It was the most productive exercise in my search. I filled out dozens upon dozens of online applications. I never heard a word back on any of those jobs. But when a NESHCo colleague said "you should call this person..." and I called, new doors would open. Not necessarily job offers, but advice, and more names and more ideas.

I had interviews with people I had seen present at NESHCo conferences in the past. And, ultimately, a new friend at a NESHCo conference connected me with the recruiter working for Lawrence General Hospital. What a great fit for my skills, my personality, and my aspirations! She saw the potential and it was a match.

I've been a member of NESHCo for 16 years, and this society has been one of the best resources I've found for professional growth and development. I've learned that big old New England is a small town when it comes to people who do what we do-friendly, generous and supportive.  Heck, I drove from Maine several times a year to attend to those friendships. The leadership opportunities have allowed me to deepen those bonds, and given me the chance to serve my chosen profession. As a state director, committee member, and then as an executive committee member, conference chair, and Lamplighter co-chair, I have been able to influence the process of education, recognition, and support for what I consider to be critical members of the healthcare team.

If you're not a member, think hard about joining. If you are a member, I hope you'll get as involved as you can. The energy of the membership propels us and makes us stronger and better. Your efforts will also make you a better communicator. Collegiality is a great gift to give and to receive. 

Click here to reach Jill. 

Meet the 2014-2015
NESHCo Board of Directors

We'd like to thank you for voting into office the following committed NESHCo members. The new board of directors is charged with leading the NESHCo operations and bringing you exciting and informative programming and member benefits. This groups devotes an enormous amount of time throughout the year to serve our membership. Please take a moment to thank them in advance for their service to NESHCo.

Executive Committee

President:  Jill McDonald, APR, Lawrence General Hospital

Vice President:  Amanda Barney, Hospital Association of RI

Treasurer:  John Looney, Lahey Health

Secretary:  Roxanne Jones, Hurley Communications

Board Mentor:  May Kernan, Care New England

Immediate Past President: Scott Orstad, White Plains Hospital 

Directors

Connecticut                       

Annie Emanuelli, Hartford HealthCare

Michael O'Farrell, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital

Massachusetts                
Julia Sorenson, Center for Human Development

Vanessa Kortze, Lawrence General Hospital

Laura Pierce, Tufts Medical Center

New Hampshire              
Sandie Phipps, Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock-Keene

Lynn Robbins, Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services

Maine                                                
Tricia Denham, Eastern Maine Medical Center

Scott Good, Crescendo Consulting

Rhode Island 

Colin Shaw, Care New England

Susan McDonald, Memorial &Women & Infants Hospital

Vermont                            
Kevin Robinson, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center

Kim O'Leary, Fletcher Allen Healthcare                                    

At Large Directors

Shawn Mawhiney, Hartford HealthCare

Natalie Rudzinskyj, Strata Marketing Group

Dan Dunlop, Jennings

To contact any board member, please reach out to Kelly Woodsum, Executive Director. We welcome conversations with all our members and friends. 

2014 Webinar Series

Letting Go of the Words-Writing Web Content that Works 

9-10 am

Presented by Ginny Redish,
Redish and Associates

On the web, whether on the job or at home, we usually want to grab information and use it quickly. We go to the web to get answers to questions or to complete tasks, reading only what we need. We are all too busy to read much whether we are on a mobile, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. We want to navigate or search quickly and easily because we've really come for the content. Join Ginny Redish, author of Letting Go of the Words, to gain her insight into creating great content for web sites, mobile apps, and social media by thinking of content as conversation. Ginny will provide her guidelines for having great online conversations with your site visitors.

About the Presenter

Ginny specializes in content strategy, information design, plain language, usability and user experience research, and writing for the web - including writing for the small screen of tablets and smart phones. All of Ginny's research, training and writing projects are collaborative efforts with a goal of helping client teams hone their skills. Ginny is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and has a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Harvard University. If you wish to purchase Ginny's book, click here.