Non-Profit Health System Doubles Blood Drive Participation
Customer Need
Bon Secours is a non-profit health system with more than 25,000 employees at 42 locations, serving communities in six states. In Greenville, South Carolina, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System needed a digital solution to replace existing static signs, fliers and table-tents to better communicate important wellness and community events information to visitors, physicians and staff.
The Solution
Bon Secours St. Francis installed 30 Samsung DB series digital displays with a powerful processor, commercial-grade features, and customized content in four buildings. The displays are used in emergency room waiting areas, lobbies, cafeterias, physician lounges, and busy hallways and are all managed using Hypersign’s content management software.
2x
the blood drive participants since promoting on Samsung Displays
Results
The Samsung digital displays and Hypersign solution has been instrumental in dramatically improving communications with staff and visitors. For example, blood drive participation has more than doubled since it was promoted on the displays. The infection risk of paper-based fliers and table-tents being touched by many people has been eliminated. Health and wellness messages now are noticed more often by guests and hospital staff.
The Sisters of Bon Secours (French for “good help”) was founded in 1824 to respond to the needs of the sick and dying in Paris by bringing compassionate health care to the patient’s home. In 1919, Bon Secours opened its first hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
Today, Bon Secours consists of more than 25,000 dedicated employees who provide expert care to communities in six states. Bon Secours operates 19 acute-care hospitals, five long-term care facilities, four assisted-living centers, and 14 home care and hospice services in six states primarily on the East Coast.
Inspired by the legacy of the Sisters of Bon Secours, the health system continues to bring people and communities to health and wholeness.
The Customer Need
Eye-Catching Displays with Visual Impact
Bon Secours St. Francis serves a diverse group of patients. Communicating a variety of health care resources and wellness information to their visitors, physicians, and staff was critical. But paper-based static signage was increasingly ineffective and could increase the risk of infection.
“Effective communication is key to reaching the people who need our care most,” says Janice Peele, Communications Coordinator at Bon Secours St. Francis. “We hold a variety of events such as drive-through flu shot clinics for the public and employee blood drives. Static signage, such as posters and table tents, simply was not capturing enough attention. The messages just faded into the background.”
There was also concern that paper fliers and table-tents that are touched many times could increase the risk of infection. “In our cafeterias, we placed cardboard trifold tents on the dining tables to promote upcoming activities or wellness advice,” says Peele. “But the table-tent might be handled and touched dozens of times over a week or two. We wanted to reduce the risk of infection and get rid of the clutter.”
“If we had the right digital signage platform, we could more effectively reach our patients, visitors, physicians, and employees.”
- Janice Peele, Communications Coordinator at Bon Secours St. Francis.
Bon Secours St. Francis also is committed to good environmental and financial stewardship. Using a digital communication platform instead of a paper-based approach would help reduce the health system’s consumption of paper.
The health system needed to deploy a digital signage platform to address the challenges of paper-based communications. “We recognized that if we had the right digital signage platform, we could more effectively reach our patients, visitors, physicians, and employees with a greater impact,” says Peele. “But we needed a cost-effective solution that was also easy to manage on a day-to-day basis with limited resources.”
The Solution:
Samsung Digital Displays and Hypersign Software
Bon Secours St. Francis worked with Samsung Smart Signage Platform software partner Hypersign to develop a digital display plan. “The health care market has very unique compliance and operational requirements,” says Neil Willis, CEO of Hypersign. “Samsung and Hypersign have already strategically partnered on many healthcare digital signage projects, so we were able to bring that expertise to Bon Secours St. Francis.”
The health system equipped its two hospitals—St. Francis Downtown and St. Francis Eastside—plus its outpatient cancer center and medical office building with 30 Samsung DB series digital displays and Hypersign software. The 48-inch and 55-inch displays are installed in lobbies, cafeterias, waiting areas, physician lounges and busy hallways. “Samsung has a great reputation for their displays, so we were pleased to learn they were cost-effective as well,” says Peele.
Samsung’s DB series displays offer advanced display technology at a cost-effective price. They deliver an outstanding visual experience with Full HD resolution and a sleek, industrial design. A powerful quad-core processor delivers accelerated performance, while a full range of connectivity inputs offer flexible content options.
“Samsung and Hypersign have already strategically partnered on many healthcare digital signage projects, so we were able to bring that expertise to Bon Secours St. Francis”
– Neil Willis, CEO of Hypersign
Each display is managed centrally with Hypersign’s content management software. “The Hypersign design tool is intuitive and easy to use so we can easily create really compelling visuals for each display,” says Peele. “For example, during flu season, we can quickly create messaging about flu shot clinics and display the content at exact locations and times so the information is precise and relevant to the audience – and it’s so much faster and far more effective.”
The displays are wall-mounted in portrait or landscape modes. “We mixed the vertical and horizontal orientation depending on the available space and to ensure maximum visibility,” says Peele. “People are used to seeing displays in landscape, so having some in portrait really makes the messages stand out.”
Samsung Commercial Display Portfolio
Broad portfolio of smart commercial displays from 10” to 98”, featuring energy efficient LED backlighting technology.
High Brightness
High brightness displays offer 2,500-3,000 nits of brightness to deliver maximum visibility in outdoor and window front environments.
Video Wall Displays
Ultra-thin bezels for virtually seamless video walls. Achieve UHD resolution when you daisy chain multiple displays through Display Port 1.2.
Smart Signage Displays
High Definition displays featuring Samsung’s system-on-chip processor, eliminating need for external media player. Select models feature built-in Wi-Fi.
The Result:
Sharp Increases in Engagement
The Samsung digital displays have had a big impact on the health system’s communications and community outreach. Unlike static signage, which faded into the background, guests, physicians, and employees quickly notice the bright displays and are engaging with the messages.
“Participation in employee blood drives was steadily declining and we just weren’t meeting our goals by relying on conventional signage,” says Peele.
With the digital signage platform in place, the health system used compelling visuals to communicate the importance of blood donations and the results were stunning. “We were so surprised that blood drive participation more than doubled; the only thing that changed was adding the Samsung displays and Hypersign software,’’ says Peele.
The local blood bank was pleased with the sharp increase in blood donations “We’re delighted with the rising participation rate – it’s making a real difference,” says Debbie Richardson, coordinator of the health system’s employee blood drives.
“Samsung has a great reputation for their displays” – Janice Peele, Communications Coordinator at Bon Secours St. Francis
The Samsung Hypersign solution has enabled the marketing team to expand its reach and engagement. “Core to the Bon Secours mission is community outreach, providing quality health care to underserved populations,” says Peele. “Now we are more effectively spreading the word about upcoming wellness events and resources—the Samsung displays and Hypersign software have played a large role in that success.”
The Samsung and Hypersign platform also has enabled the health system to communicate news about employee forums, quality ratings, benefits updates, and awards with its staff.
Plans are underway to expand the digital signage program to the health system’s physician groups so they can better engage their patients and employees.
