The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations concluded its workforce video storytelling project, Hometown Healthcare Heroes (HTHH). The project was funded in part by SDAHO and a grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation. This project was created to assist member facilities with workforce needs by highlighting specific rural facilities, job opportunities, staff and the community through videos that were then advertised nationwide on Facebook and LinkedIn.
This 18-month project was more than a workforce recruitment tool for member hospitals and long-term care facilities it was an economic development tool for the entire community, according to Stephanie Rissler, SDAHO’s Communication Manager. “We were able to visit each facility and sit down to talk with staff and show viewers what healthcare systems look like in South Dakota. Some of these facilities are incredible with state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, we interviewed members of the community and included video of each town. It is a great feeling to show the rest of the nation how great our small towns in South Dakota are and what life might be like to live and work in the healthcare industry in one of these towns. We are honored to have been able to do this for our members our state.”
The HTHH project began in April 2022 and ended on June 30, 2022. There were 16 total communities featured. Each facility received up to 4 separate videos, print articles, press releases and paid social media advertising. The communities included:
- Pierre – St. Mary’s Hospital
- Webster – Sanford Webster Medical Center
- Winner – Winner Regional Health
- Aberdeen – Avera St. Luke’s
- Bowdle – Bowdle Healthcare Center
- Brookings – Brookings Healthcare System
- Burke – Community Memorial Hospital
- Canton – Sanford Canton-Inwood
- Custer – Monument Health Custer
- Freeman – Freeman Regional Health System
- Hot Springs – Fall River Health System
- Mobridge – Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics
- Spearfish – Monument Health Spearfish
- Sturgis – Monument Health Sturgis
- Viborg – Pioneer Memorial Hospital
- Wessington Springs – Avera Weskota Memorial Hospital
“It wasn’t just about selling a job opportunity it was also about selling a quality of life in South Dakota, and viewers across the nation were watching the videos according to our analytics.” Stephanie Rissler, Communications Manager, SDAHO.
The top states with the most views or link clicks in the videos included:
- Texas
- South Dakota
- California
- Florida
- New York
The total dollar spent on social media advertising was $8206.00, and the current reach or number of individuals who watched the videos is 586,091 with 10,269 people clicking on a link taking them directly to a health systems job opportunity page.
In addition to help member facilities with workforce recruitment, each participating facility will be given all of the raw video and edited video to use with any of their own marketing efforts. “We were able to hire a professional drone operator, and because of the grant we were able to purchase new video equipment for the project. This allowed SDAHO to create a robust and professional marketing tool for those who participated, at no cost to them. We know dollars are tight and staff is limited, we are honored to be able to help in this space.”
Each facility was asked to fill out an anonymous evaluation sharing their experience with the project, future plans to utilize any of the video provided by SDAHO and most importantly if they were able to fill any jobs due directly because of the project. To date, 42 jobs have been filled according to the evaluations.
To watch a recap video of the project:
For more information on all of the Hometown Healthcare Hero videos and communities, visit: sdaho.org/hometown-healthcare-heroes.
For a brief overview on the analytics of the project, click here.
