Contact: Kevin Kavanaugh Director of Public Affairs (773) 478-6613 kkavanaugh@nursinghome.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2005

Illinois Council on Long Term Care Publishes Booklet on 
Working Successfully with the Media

(CHICAGO) – One of the biggest challenges facing the long term care profession is its negative public image. A recently released Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that only 35 percent of Americans think that nursing homes are “doing a good job.” 

Through skillful media outreach, nursing homes have the opportunity to enhance their community reputations and improve the public’s perceptions of the services that all facilities provide. The Illinois Council on Long Term Care has created the booklet Working Successfully with the Media to help professionals tap into the power of this underused marketing tool. 

Packed with useful information and written in an engaging style, the booklet covers two separate areas:

Earning Positive Media Coverage – This section provides step-by-step instructions about how to garner positive publicity for a facility program or event. The section covers making stories attractive to the media, writing press releases, creating a media list, pitching stories to editors, completing interviews with reporters and many other topics. 

How to Handle a Media Crisis – Even the best facilities can suddenly find themselves in the middle of a crisis with media representatives knocking on their doors. The booklet’s media crisis section outlines a standardized facility policy for handling media inquiries, appointing spokespeople, determining key messages, releasing statements to the media, completing interviews and declining comment with skill when necessary.

Recently, the Illinois Council released this booklet at a series of well-received seminars on “Crisis Management: Legal and Media Response.” The seminars featured case studies and helpful advice regarding the typical crises faced by nursing homes, including fires, accidental deaths, public health penalties and lawsuits. 

The booklet is available to non-members at a cost of $29.00, and members for $19.00. For more information, please contact the Illinois Council at 773/478-6613.

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Editor’s Note: Public Affairs Director Kevin Kavanaugh is available to be interviewed for any future articles on media relations and marketing. To interview Kavanaugh, please contact him at 773/478-6613.