It’s Good To Be Back

Over the last two weeks, I’ve presented at two conferences with really unique audiences: 1) The Annual Conference of the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC), and 2) The Association for Home and Hospice Care (AHHC). For each of these, I did a new presentation that I’ve never given before, and it was a blast! It is so good to be speaking at conferences (once again), sharing ideas, and learning from others in the field.

For the NAFC, I co-presented with Rebecca Butler of the Virginia Association for Free and Charitable Clinics. We shared the story of our #FreeClinicsCare campaign which was created and has been running during the pandemic. Our goal for the campaign was to break down misperceptions that people have regarding free clinics and to reach out to prospective patients, donors, and provider volunteers. The campaign was incredibly well-received during our presentation. The feedback was extraordinary.

For the AHHC presentation, I talked about the ways in which your brand lexicon can impact your organizational culture and your recruitment and retention efforts. In particular, I spoke about making a shift from militaristic language which is so common in business and marketing, to language grounded in love, kindness, and compassion. In healthcare, our language should be different; It should also be more inclusive. We should not be afraid to adopt a language of love. This is a topic I am passionate about and plan to explore in future articles and presentations!

Overall, I have loved having the opportunity to share my work and perspectives with others working in the healthcare arena. It reminds me why I love doing what I do. I’m grateful for the experience and opportunity.