Burke County Health Department Facebook Page: Case Study

The growth of health care activities since then has truly encouraged patients to reach for information outside the confines of patient and physician interaction. Revolutionary new technology such as cell phones and computers, as well as the development of the Internet and social media sites, has served as where a vast majority of the public finds current knowledge for their problems.

The Better Health Association is always looking for stronger ways to connect with individuals within our community. As technology has increased, individuals spend large amounts of time online or on their cell phones. Our goal is to develop an app which will allow a Better Health patient to access any time of the day 24-7. Benefits of the app will include tips on health education, which in return will allow the patient the opportunity to take preventive steps in taking care of themselves. I will deepen the leadership and management practice in order to strengthen the organization to fulfill our goals.

The Better Health Association is a nonprofit company whose objective is simply to increase the health of people through health education, guidance, and diagnosis screening programs. They make an attempt to assist audiences of any age and socioeconomic ranges to gain knowledge of living an even healthy life-style and creating the know-how required to develop healthy and balanced choices. "My role within the company is to secure agreements from at least three major area advertising and marketing agencies to underwrite the creation and production of all Better Health special event programs for the next three to four years. I also, create an active and positive presence for the agency in state-of-the-art social media venues that results in recruitment and assistance to new clients. Monitor and track results quarterly. In addition to, developing systematic marketing plans that address every operational area of Better Health including client services, all fund raising events and general association promotion in all media venues" (https://bluequill.franklin.edu, n.d.).

Since consumers are becoming more involved with their healthcare decisions, organizations and providers must adapt to consumer requisites and utilize independent resources to ensure the viability of their businesses. In 2008, a study reported that 81% of internet users and 66% of adults utilized online health information as a source for health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). Some examples of online health information resources comprised of search engines, organizational websites, and governmental agencies that participate in health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). By accessing health related information, consumers empower themselves with knowledge to assist in healthcare decisions and wellness management (Ha & Yun, 2011). As a result of consumers becoming better educated about healthcare, administrators must explore internet resources in order to maintain quality and services that is expected by consumers, and maintain the reputation of the organization.

Social media networking is not a program or website, it is a phenomenon where people, institutions can collaborate and connect online both professionally and socially. People can interact and share ideas without geographical, physical or time limitations.

“Across the low-income group (<$30,000) of all ethnic groups (whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians), Hispanics have been found to be the most underserved population in terms of access to the Internet” (Peña-Purcell, 2008, p. 102). Thereby hindering their ability to gain access to and use internet health information.

Communication is essential in every aspect of life. Open and strategic communication plans are crucial for the efficient performance of health organizations. End users need health information to make informed decisions. With the advancement of technology such as access to the Internet, it is convenient for patients to access health care services and products (Publishing, 2013). Health care services are importance to the community.

Information on patient safety and health, providing for medical research collaborations on patient engagement. HHS is using technology to identify new approaches to enable citizens to contribute their ideas to the work of government. These innovations include engaging web technologies with several functional capabilities, including blogging to rate and rank ideas and priorities. A key element of HHS’s intra-agency Open Government initiative is innovation. With this resourcefulness, the administration is promoting agency transparency, public participation, and collaboration from public-private federal departments.

Pennyrile District Health Department’s website and intranet are ways to inform the public of the services the organization provide. The state Department of Public Health and the Center of Disease Control (CDC) has had a website for some time. These two organizations covered many of the services that we provide on a basic level. In 2011, our organization started our own website at PennyrileHealth.org. The website allowed us to provide more detail to our communities on all the services we provide. Some of the services are required services that all health departments across the state provide and some services are ones that are more centralized to what are communities feel like they need. Along with the website we have pages on social media’s Twitter and Facebook.

On one particular fall morning when I entered work I notice no one at their desk working. I sat down and clocked in and my supervisor came over shortly after. She greeted me with a smile as usual and said, good morning and informed me of a meeting in the Jefferson conference room. After I put my things away I grabbed my notebook and pen and proceeded to the meeting. Soon after the meeting had started and everything after that became a blur. I couldn’t believe it, I was in complete shock after being her for ten years I, amongst so many others were being laid off. I know the last few months had been extremely hectic around work. Many rumors surfaced about the job shutting down while others said a layoff was near. After a company wide meeting with management they ensured us our job was not in any danger even though the numbers showed different.

Looking ahead into the coming century and seeing that life is becoming only more complex and busier, the program attempts to make its plans as easy as possible and to customize them to people's lives. To that end, it presents tools and calculators to help their clients keep their health on track, as well as personalized health sites and personal assessments to help people know where they stand in terms of their health (http://www.uhc.com/health_and_wellness.htm). United Health Care realizes that people spend much of their time on eh Internet and some

Social Media can reduce the cost of the healthcare marketing. Facebook; YouTube; and Twitter can help the Board members of the PMH to promote the new clinic and to get new patients from the contacts obtained through the social media.

Social media has made communication a lot more easier than ever before. Now, with a touch of a button people could communicate with anybody any where in the world. Websites such as Facebook makes communication with others an easy task. Facebook improved commucnication and even made communication a better experience. Facebook allow peole to share photos, post comments, and view people’s personal information. With almost 500 million users accounts, facebook is considered to be one of the most popular social media websites,most of the people use it as a substitute for real life human interaction.

Facebook, a social networking website, has changed the way people communicate with each other. A social networking website is an online platform that allows users to create a public profile and interact with other users on the website. Facebook has even changed our most personal and private conversations and how they are conducted around the world. Since the internet’s birth in 1983, this trend of online communication has been growing. Created in 2004, now registered with more than one billion participants, Facebook’s user numbers surpass even the top four social networking websites combined. According to Wikipedia statistics, Instagram has 300 million registered users, LinkedIn has 200 million users, Classmates.com has 50 million users, and Flickr has 32 million registered users. To be further convinced of the claim that Facebook indeed changes the way we communicate, you would only need to create your own Facebook account and start participating in their social networking experience. Technology and internet usage is fused into every aspect of our society including the style of communication. The launch of Facebook in 2006 also enabled other devices such as touch phones, interactive tablets, and even advanced cars with their own networking capabilities starting in 2007. Facebook is a multibillion-dollar company and is highly recognized for connecting more people than other networks. Facebook’s long-term success can be attributed to providing entertainment, world news, and

Facebook helps people to share one’s information to others through posting and photon on his or her Facebook wall. Dr. Marry Marrow has syntheses her findings about Facebook and wrote, “Social media; staying connected.” She mentions that Facebook can bring happiness when you actively connected to our beloveds. Additionally, Facebook gives opportunities to health care as mean to communicate and to instruct communities (Marrow para 3). Social media like Facebook can enhance