Southwest nationally recognized in 2009 Aster Awards for excellence in medical marketing

VANCOUVER, Wash. – May 18, 2009. Honored for advertising excellence in the 2009 Aster Awards, Southwest Washington Medical Center received seven recognitions in this year’s competition. Awards were presented for these campaigns and publications:

Gold Awards (top 5% of nation)

- Pioneering Medicine (outdoor advertising)

- Joint Journey (service line campaign)

- daVinci Robotic Surgery (direct mail series)

- Southwest Health (magazine/publication)

Silver Awards (top 12% of nation)

- Rehab Services (professional recruitment)

- 150th anniversary DVD (special video production)

Bronze Award (top 16% of nation)

- Tough guys should be handled with care (billboard)

The Aster Awards, one of the largest competitions of its kind, is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today. The elite national program consisted of approximately 3,000 entries from across America. Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category. Judging criteria included creativity, design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

“What’s remarkable about Southwest’s marketing achievements is that we use local expertise and an in-house agency philosophy,” said Chad Dillard, chief communications officer. “We work to break through the clutter to appeal to consumers as well as referring doctors, past patients and our own 3,000+ staff members.”

Southwest’s marketing team includes Barb Bryant, Ken Cole, Louise Craig, Jennifer Eland, Michelle Halfhill, Marjorie Marchand, Sarah Mottram, Richelle Sabado and Matt Schoolfield. (A team photo is attached to this email or available on request.)

Southwest Washington Medical Center

The region’s health care leader and steward for nearly 150 years, Southwest is a community-focused, not-for-profit, 360-bed, medical institution located in Vancouver, Washington. Repeatedly recognized nationally as a 100 Top Hospital, Southwest provides a full range of outpatient and inpatient diagnostic, medical, and surgical services to Clark County residents. Southwest is also one of Clark County’s largest employers. Southwest’s 3,283 employees and 600 active medical staff members help support dozens of medical specialty services and programs, focused on cancer, heart, emergency, trauma, neuro-musculoskeletal, family birth, and primary care.