The North Oaks Communications, Marketing and Public Relations team earned
“Best of Show” honors and swept several categories at the 36th Annual Gordon & Breaux Pelican Awards program hosted by the
Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing (LSHPRM) on Nov. 3 at the Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge. North Oaks Health
System ranked in the top three for most awards received for hospitals
with more than 150 beds.
The society also presented a Golden Pelican Award to Allison Portier as
Graphic Designer of the Year. Portier, a 5-year member of the North Oaks
team, was honored for her passion for innovation, creativity and community service.
“This dynamic young woman is a wonderful example of the culture of
excellence we are building at North Oaks Health System,” affirms
Michele Sutton, president and chief executive officer of North Oaks Health
System. “In everything she does, she exhibits the North Oaks values
of communication, caring, compassion and commitment to coworkers. She
is an outstanding role model for young women looking to excel in their
chosen paths and make a difference in their community.”
Portier has earned multiple awards for her designs promoting health system
services as a member of the North Oaks team. Most notably, she earned
a “Best of Show” award from LSHPRM for a campaign promoting
North Oaks Medical Center’s Shock Trauma program. Organizations,
such as the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center and Rotary Club
of Hammond, have benefited from her creative designs and volunteerism
as well. Her commitment to making a difference also extends to her alma
mater, Southeastern Louisiana University, where she serves as an adviser
to her fellow Alpha Omicron Pi sorority sisters. Other accolades include
Portier’s selection by the Ponchatoula Kiwanis Club as the 2016
poster artist for the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and by
The Daily Star as one of this year’s “Future 40” honorees.
The health system’s website was recognized as “Best of Show”
for graphic design. It also earned a Pelican Award in the “Multi-hospital
System Website Initiative” category. Last updated in 2012, the latest
redesign was launched Dec. 31, 2016, and rapidly surpassed the goal set
for monthly traffic of 30,000 visitors. The new site has achieved a 67
percent increase in visitors per month thanks to responsive design technology
and many enhanced features, such as an online physician directory, online
bill payment and a robust news network, to name only a few.
Pelican Awards also were earned for the North Oaks Health System Patient
Guide, “Source of Strength” Annual Report and the North Oaks
Foundation Employee Giving Campaign.
The Patient Guide was designed as a booklet to place all required and important
information at patients’ fingertips with a pocket to store additional
information, such as after visit summaries.
Each year, North Oaks Health System publishes an annual report for distribution
to its board of commissioners, health system leadership and other critical
stakeholders, such as key government officials. This year’s report
showcased how the health system is a source of strength in the areas of
leadership, fiscal responsibility, performance management, community reinvestment
and community involvement.
The North Oaks Foundation’s “Together We Can” Employee
Giving Campaign won a Pelican Award for outstanding results. The campaign
was launched in April 2017 as the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization’s
first fundraising event. The foundation will provide funding for programs
and equipment purchases that may not otherwise be possible for North Oaks
Health System to fund through its operations. The “Together We Can”
slogan served as a rallying cry to encourage staff to support the foundation
in its efforts to improve community health, inspire innovation and creativity,
as well as support each other in their work to heal the sick and injured.
Two Certificates of Merit also were awarded to North Oaks in the “Publications”
category for its
CommUnity and
Heartbeat newsletters.
CommUnity is an external newsletter published three times annually, which reaches
an average of more than 58,000 households per issue. North Oaks has produced
it for 17 years to deliver timely medical information, health tips and
preventive topics. It is also instrumental in publicizing health screenings,
educational classes and support group meetings.
Heartbeat is an internal staff newsletter published quarterly for the past 32 years.
It serves as a vehicle for employee, physician and volunteer recognition
and important health system updates.
LSHPRM is an affiliate society of the Louisiana Hospital Association. Each
year, LSHPRM sponsors the Pelican Awards to recognize and encourage improvement
in quality, effectiveness and impact of hospital communications, public
relations and marketing. This year, 22 health care organizations were
recognized with awards given in 34 categories.
The Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing honored
Allison Portier (right) as Graphic Designer of the Year for 2017 at the
36th Annual Pelican Awards. North Oaks President and Chief Executive Officer
Michele Sutton (left) was on hand to participate in Portier’s recognition.
The North Oaks Communications, Marketing and Public Relations team
earned “Best of Show” honors and swept several categories at
the Thirty-sixth Annual Gordon & Breaux Pelican Awards program recently
hosted by the Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations and Marketing.
Seated, from left, are
Creative Manager Pam Cantrelle, Graphic Designer Allison Portier and Vice
President of Strategy and Outreach Tracy Randazzo. Standing, from left,
are Communications Manager Nanette White, Market Strategist/Business Development
Representative Tiffany Harvey-Gautier, Marketing Director Shantel Johnson,
Communications Specialist Laura Hanzo, President and Chief Executive Officer
Michele Sutton, Graphic Designer Sana Naeem and Public Relations Coordinator
and outgoing LSHPRM Board of Directors Member Melanie Lanaux Zaffuto.
Not pictured are: Administrative Assistant Ronda Tierney; Digital Media/Production
Specialist DJ Miller; Graphic Designer Noelle Moschitta; Market Strategists/Business
Development Representatives Kay Kearney and Ashley Miller; Print Shop
Supervisor Luke Canzoneri; and Press Operators Tim Holmes and Nina Rakocy.