PR & Communications

Section Index

Call To Action
Important Notes
Tools and Resources

Call To Action

HIMSS17 Important Information for Chapter Leaders
The 2017 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition will take place on Feb. 19 – 23, 2017 in Orlando, Fla. HIMSS staff hopes to see you there!

• Chapter Receptions – Chapter reception details are being finalized by the HIMSS meetings team. Look for information on the HIMSS chapter events webpage soon. 
• Chapter Leadership Workshop –Chapter Leader Workshop is open to all chapter leaders, and will be held on Sunday, Feb. 19 in Orlando (in-person only).  Register here.  
• HIMSS Communities Open House – Chapters have the opportunity to host a table at the HIMSS Communities Open House pending space availability – Monday, Feb. 20, 5:30-6:30 pm, in the convention center. Sign up information will be coming soon. 
• Look at the Schedule at a Glance for an overview of HIMSS17 activities.
• Promote HIMSS17 and Chapter Membership – HIMSS created a Chapter Marketing Toolkit to help chapter leaders get the word out – HIMSS17 is for all healthcare professionals.
• Registration and Housing – HIMSS encourages chapter leaders to take advantage of the early bird member discount that will end on Dec. 5. Register early and save. For best hotel options, book a hotel stay today.
• Discount Code – As a token of HIMSS’s appreciation, all chapter leaders receive a $100 discount off one regular individual HIMSS17 full registration fee. This discount is non-transferable and only one discount code is allowed per person. Register online and enter the promotional code 17ACDFCHP to receive the discount.

HIMSS Blog Best Practices
Use the HIMSS blog to get the word out about the chapter’s activities.  This tool is open to all members, and may expand chapter’s audience, garner more chapter interest and increase membership recruitment/retention. Visit the HIMSS Blog.

The HIMSS Communications team has compiled some ideas for HIMSS bloggers to use, for those writing from the perspective of a HIMSS member or as a chapter leader.  For instance, some questions that HIMSS members may want to address:

• How do you view the intersection of healthcare and technology? Please answer this question as it relates to your own subject matter area.
• What emerging trend do you see in your area of health IT in the next year?
• As a leader in health IT, share a quote or reflection that inspires you every day in the work you do?

Or if writing as a chapter leader, consider the following questions:

• How is the Chapter influencing Health IT transformation?
• How does the Chapter relay the HIMSS mission to its members?
• What do you feel is the most important thing your Chapter does in the industry?
• As a Chapter Leader, how do you inspire other HIMSS members?
• What motivates your Chapter to be a valuable resource to locals in the industry? 

Additional HIMSS Blogging Tips:

• Focus on personal expertise or the chapter’s general expertise, not organization affiliation.
• Think about this question:  What are the pain points of your target audience? What keeps them up at night?
• Think of your blog post as a conversation, but keep it positive…avoid rants, personal criticism and negativity. 
• Use first person in your blog post – use “I” or “We.”
• Avoid big blocks of text. Give readers’ eyes a break by using bulleted or numbered lists, when appropriate.
• Include questions related to your topic at the end of your post to encourage discussion.

Please keep the word count around 300-500 words.  Authors can submit a headshot, or relevant photo to use with the blog post if they prefer. Members can also set up an interview with the HIMSS Communications Team by contacting Kelly Wagner, coordinator, corporate communications, at (312) 915-9502.

Sponsorship Opportunity: HIMSS17 Communities Open House
HIMSS community members network together at annual conference at this highly attended reception. Sponsoring the reception provides great exposure to a variety of topically focused HIMSS communities.

Benefits 

• Signage thanking sponsors with logo in prominent areas of reception
• Single color logo on promotional product giveaway (determined and provided by HIMSS)
• Sponsor to announce winning chapter table and award prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
• HIMSS Conference Supporter (Logo listed on conference website with hyperlink to your home page, logo in various HIMSS marketing materials [pocket, resource guide etc.], logo displayed in prominent areas on-site
• HIMSS Priority Points (2)
• HIMSS Exhibitor/Client Badges (2)

Contact Becky Washler, senior director, exhibit and sponsorship sales, meeting services and exhibits for more information on sponsoring the Communities Open House (open to all: chapters or organizations).

Chapter Website Policy Reminder
As chapter websites move from the old platform to the new Drupal platform, please ensure your chapter follows the website policy.  The following is taken directly from the Chapter Policies document:

Chapter Board responsibilities include chapter website compliance, which is the responsibility of Chapter Officers and webmasters.  We will randomly check chapter websites to verify compliance with website procedures throughout the fiscal year.

If a Chapter is not in compliance, it will have 30 days from the date of notification to update the site and conform. If after 30 days the site is still not compliant, the Chapter will be put on probation, as outlined in the Chapter Status Policy. If the deficiency is still not corrected the Chapter will be suspended and lose HIMSS Chapter benefits. The Chapter will have an additional 60 days to correct the deficiency before their charter is revoked.

Remember that chapters must comply with HIMSS logo policy when displaying its logo on its website. Chapter websites will use the most update logo, per logo policy in Section One.  Advertisement on Chapter websites is restricted to chapter events and sponsorship. Officers should not permit individuals to use the chapter websites to promote businesses or to sell products.  The following pages are required to be on all chapter websites:

• The HIMSS Chapter Logo in header
• Current list of Board of Directors including contact information
• Calendar of events

Contact Chapter Staff with any questions.

Important Notes

NHIT Week Partners Showcase the Value of Health IT
National Health IT Week is an annual and nationwide collaborative forum showcasing the essential role and important promise of health IT for transforming healthcare in America. It is an independent week made up of partner-driven events offering healthcare stakeholders an opportunity to unite under one banner, one message: the benefits health information technology can bring to U.S. healthcare.

Using the theme of Expanding the Value of Health IT, NHIT Week 2016 recognized HIMSS members as the linchpin of this collaborative forum from Sept. 26-30. During this week, public and private healthcare constituents came together in partnership to educate industry and policy stakeholders on the value of health IT for the US healthcare system. The almost 400 collaborating organizations helped promote this vision of better health with IT throughout the week by spreading the word at local, regional and national levels.  They demonstrated their commitment to health IT by hosting events, publishing blogs and articles, emails to constituents, creating videos, tweets and more. 

“Each year, NHIT Week brings together people and organizations from across the country to celebrate the need for and value of information technology in improving health and healthcare,” said Thomas J. Leary, vice president, government relations, HIMSS North America. “This year, President Obama issued a proclamation in recognition of NHIT Week 2016 as our HIMSS chapters in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Nebraska and New York worked with their state legislators to issue state proclamations.”

“Since its introduction more than 10 years ago, NHIT Week 2016 has evolved to partner-driven support and activities across the country. This year, our partners held 38 events, both virtual and face-to-face, that provided education and discussion on the vital role health IT plays in the delivery of quality patient care,” Stephanie Denvir, senior director, strategic relations, HIMSS North America. 

Highlights of the week included:

• Almost 400 NHIT Week 2016 partnering organizations
• 38 events across the country (combination of virtual and face-to-face)
• Significant impact through social media outreach with 59.7 million #NHITWeek impressions and 8.5 million impressions for #IHeartHIT
• #IHeartHIT stories from people across the country highlighted the value of health IT in their lives

Read more about NHIT Week 2016 in Highlights from National Health Information Technology Week.

2015 Chapter Annual Standards – Financial
Note to all chapter leaders that deadline extensions for the 2016 Chapter Annual Standards Report is Oct 31.  This includes all outstanding financial portions, primarily Standards 7 and 8 (2016-17 Operating Budget and 2015-16 Balance Sheet).  Please send directly to chapters@himss.org by Oct 31.  Don’t forget to get physical signatures for the Financial Checklist (Section 7, Attachment A).  Please make sure that any missing standards be sent in a timely fashion to avoid jeopardizing the chapter’s good standing status.

Tools & Resources
The HIMSS Chapter Leader Communication Guide is completed and in its final review stage. Look for the link to the guide in the November edition and posted in the Chapter Leader Resource Area.

Celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month
HIMSS joins the National Cyber Security Alliance and numerous other Champions in celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), held annually in October. Since its inception a decade ago under leadership from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, NCSAM has grown exponentially, reaching consumers, small and medium-size businesses, corporations, educational institutions, and young people across the nation.

• Become a Champion & Get Involved
• Practical Tips on Safeguarding Information for Healthcare Organizations
• Guide to Keeping Information Safe and Secure Infographic
• Healthcare Privacy & Security Podcasts
• HIMSS Privacy & Security Toolkits

Webinar: HIMSS17 Interoperability Showcase
Thursday, November 10, 2016 | 1:00 pm ET
Register now
Now is the time to register for the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase. HIMSS will be starting planning calls in November. The upcoming webinar will kick off the redesigned HIMSS17 Interoperability Showcase, occurring Feb.20-22, 2017. Get the facts on how to participate and how to make the most of sponsorship. Meet the technical team and hit the ground running during our first planning call of the season. The Showcase has expanded to include all interoperability stakeholders and to demonstrate the entire health ecosystem, with no technical barriers to health IT solutions providers to participate.

Volunteer at the HIMSS17 Interoperability Showcase
HIMSS is looking for volunteers to support the HIMSS17 Interoperability Showcase. In exchange for your time, you'll receive a complimentary exhibitor badge to HIMSS17. Apply now.

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Recognize outstanding Chapter board members or volunteers for above and beyond chapter accomplishments by submitting to HIMSS Members in Action.

Oct 25
Collecting & Managing Project Requirements | Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter of HIMSS
Hurstbourne & Shelbyville Road | 9300 Shelbyville Road | Louisville, KY 40222

Oct 28
Holy MACRA! - 2016 Fall Conference | Central & Southern Ohio Chapter of HIMSS
Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center | University of Cincinnati | 151 Goodman Street | Cincinnati, OH 45219

Nov 2
GC3 Conference 2016 | Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Chapters of HIMSS
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino | Biloxi, MS

Nov 9
2016 Annual Fall Conference | South Carolina Chapter of HIMSS
Columbia Convention Center | Columbia, SC

Nov 11
2016 Fall Event | West Virginia Chapter of HIMSS
Stonewall Resort | 940 Resort Dr | Roanoke, WV 26447

Nov 12
Minnesota Nursing Informatics Bootcamp | Minnesota Chapter of HIMSS
HealthPartners Administrative Building | 8170 33rd Avenue South | Bloomington, MN 55425

Nov 13
2016 Midwest Fall Technology Conference
Radisson Blu at the Mall of America | Bloomington, MN

Nov 15
Integrate 2016 | South Florida Chapter of HIMSS
Signature Grand | 6900 State Road 84 Davie, FL 33317

Nov 16
Health Care Reform - "Where Are We In New York State?" | New York Chapter of HIMSS
Revolution Hall | 421-425 River Street | Troy, NY

More Events