Tight budgets call for innovative methods for funding special projects
Tight budgets call for innovative methods for funding special projects
Seek partnerships with others to prevent shortfall
When resources aren’t available to meet identified patient education needs, patient education managers must be creative.
"I have put a lot of work into finding funding from outside sources to partnering with other departments within the medical center and with organizations outside whenever possible to stretch our resources," says Annette Mercurio, MPH, CHES, director of patient, family, and community education at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA.
For example, Mercurio was able to partner with a pharmaceutical company to fund a staff position for a supportive care resource desk. Supportive care is where patients and family members come for information about symptom and pain management and link up with support groups or access other support services within the medical center.
Also, she partnered with the marketing and communication department at City of Hope to fund a series of community outreach talks called "Ask the Experts." The marketing department supplies the refreshments, does the promotion such as placing ads in the local papers, and helps with the logistics. "It is hard for our department to have enough resources to put educational activities on by ourselves, but if each department can chip in a little bit and help with the support, it makes a difference," says Mercurio.
Being creative is key
Creativity is key, agrees Laura Gebers, BSN, RNC, health education coordinator at Community Medical Center in Toms River, NJ. When she saw the need for a closed-circuit television system at her facility to show patients educational videos, she took a demonstration product to the medical center’s foundation and several auxiliaries. As a result, she obtained funding and was able to get the system up and running, select videos from several companies to place on the system, and create a few videos in-house. Included are internal commercials for hospital services as well as educational videos. One video was on health education resources, a second on case management and discharge referral services, and a third, titled Guided Imagery: A Journey to Tranquility, was designed to help patients relax at the end of the day after visiting hours.
When it comes to getting financial backing from the administration, patient education managers must often prove that the project has value, says Gebers. To do this, she convinced a company that sells a software product for educational sheets to allow her to pilot the drug educational sheets prior to a Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations visit. She also got the administration to agree that if the Joint Commission saw that the sheets met the need for medication education, the hospital would license the product.
With the help of the pharmacy department and all patient care directors, the top 100 medications used on each unit was identified and copies of the education sheets were placed in binders so each unit secretary could make copies for staff to give to patients. "Shortly after that, we were able to justify the need for purchasing the product and administration financed it," says Gebers.
Build bridges
It’s always a good idea to prove the value of a program or project, even if funding was obtained up front. "I strongly suggest that anyone considering asking for money for a project submit the finished product for some type of recognition," says Gebers. For example, she submits all videos produced in-house to awards programs; several have won honors. People donating money for the products like to see that it is a quality product and is benefiting patients.
Also, they like to be recognized for their donation. "I make sure that in any publication and at the end of the video, there is a statement about where funding was obtained, whether it is money from a department, a grant, or community source," says Gebers.
If a connection can be made, consider working with local businesses. For example, when Community Medical Center decided to make an educational video for its large congestive heart failure population, it was determined that part of the video would be shot in a grocery store to demonstrate shopping techniques and how to read food labels. Therefore, Gebers asked the manager of the local grocery store if he would be able to support the endeavor.
Build relationships in advance so it is easier to find the funding when needed, advises Mercurio. She works with the development center at City of Hope and makes sure it knows what her department is responsible for so when a donation is made that fits educational needs, it is correctly appropriated.
For example, when a patient recently passed away, the family members donated $150,000 from the estate that was earmarked for community outreach. The money made it possible to retain the staff patient and family resource coordinator who coordinated the learning center, edited the patient and family newsletter, and coordinated the community education series.
Previously, the position had been jointly supported by the medical center and a drug company and was forced to end the agreement due to a new federal law. "I was fortunate to receive the estate gift so I could continue to support the position," says Mercurio.
To keep educational needs in the forefront, Mercurio regularly meets with staff members from the development center and invites them to meetings. Recently, she met with staff to discuss grant possibilities for community disease prevention programs. "What they have said is that it is most helpful for me to create a brief description of the different programs we have and the needs that we have so that they have the information whenever any possibilities come along," says Mercurio.
To make sure your efforts are supported, it’s important to gather as much hard information in advance as possible. Talk to patients to see what the needs really are, advises Mercurio. "Determine how patients perceive the need and get an idea from them about how they would like to see it addressed," she says.
Mercurio also calls community agencies to see how they would like to see City of Hope partner with them to meet the community’s needs. In that way, she is aware of possible partners for upcoming projects.
Don’t get comfortable
One problem of partnering with businesses, organizations, or agencies for funding rather than having it built into the budget is that the funds can be pulled abruptly. This happened at City of Hope when the pharmaceutical company funding the staff position for a supportive care resource desk had to withdraw its support. Now the position is being funded with grant money until the development center can find a donor to fund it.
"In the past, we have tried to institutionalize programs, but it is difficult to do even if you demonstrate the impact of programs. There is about a zero chance that a medical center will pick up a position, so it is important to look for an alternate source of support to continue services," says Mercurio.
Gebers uses an annual health education festival to build a nest egg for future patient education needs. She invites vendors to the festival to set up booths with an educational focus for patients and staff, but in exchange for their exposure, she asks for a donation. "The money goes into a discretionary fund that I use to help support some of the health education initiatives. At this point, I have several thousand dollars in an account; so if I need to purchase something that isn’t covered in the budget, I can draw from these funds," says Gebers.
She has used part of the funds to host a health education awards luncheon at a fine restaurant where staff were honored as educators of the year with a $100 gift certificate and plaque. "By word-of-mouth, the news of this event spread; and after the first year, I was able to have it budgeted," says Gebers. To increase financial support, it is important to increase visibility, she says.
Sources
For more information about innovative ways to fund programs that aren’t in the budget, contact:
- Laura Gebers, BSN, RNC, Health Education Coordinator, Educational Services Department, Community Medical Center, Toms River, NJ 08755. Telephone: (732) 557-8252. E-mail: [email protected].
- Annette Mercurio, MPH, CHES, Director of Patient, Family, and Community Education, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010-0269. Telephone: (626) 301-8926. E-mail: [email protected].
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