Count On Coffey

By Josh Moulton, Project Coordinator

Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) serves a community that relies on clear information from a trusted local source. With expansion and onboarding accelerating, CMH needed a communications approach that could keep pace with changes without sacrificing quality or reader engagement.

The challenge

CMH faced three competing needs at once. The goal was to:

• Maintain consistent, high-quality community communications during a high-demand operational period.
• Balance organizational messaging with true health education—content people will read and act on.
• Introduce new providers in an eye-catching and effective way.

The approach

Scalable editorial foundation

CMH partners with Coffey Communications on the content, design and targeted mailing services of a quarterly magazine. In Vitality, CMH uses Coffey's content library as a starting point, then tailors each issue with details that make information feel immediately actionable and community-specific, including:

• Local classes and events.
• CMH web resources.
• Provider videos and links that extend the story beyond print.

The "effective combination of your copy and ours," as CMH describes it, is a model that creates efficiency without losing authenticity.

Design-forward storytelling

CMH emphasizes publication quality as a key driver of readership. The design strategy of Vitality supports that goal with:

• Infographics to clarify data-heavy topics (especially for annual report content).
• Modular provider "cards" that help readers scan and remember new clinicians.
• Strong cover imagery designed to drive pickup and engagement.

This isn't design for its own sake—it is design to improve understanding, retention and usability.

Seamless integration of timely topics

CMH needs the publication to stay responsive to timely, locally relevant topics. Requested subjects for articles are delivered by the Coffey team and integrated cleanly into the editorial plan.

This allows CMH to stay current while maintaining production discipline and a cohesive editorial voice.

The execution

Highlights

Several tactical choices stand out as meaningful improvements to how readers experience the publication:

• Coffey's content library plus local voice creates a stronger editorial whole than either approach alone.
• Infographic treatment makes complex content easier to digest and more visually approachable.
• The recurring feature, "Welcome to our new providers!" is designed to improve scanning and retention—supporting onboarding visibility without overwhelming readers.

Another recurring feature, "Ask the Expert," makes provider visibility feel like community health education rather than promotion.

Outcomes

CMH's results are strongest in two areas: perceived quality and audience signals.

• Vitality has received positive internal and community feedback.
• Content in Vitality presents as credible, practical and aligned to community needs—even during an operationally intense period.
• Evidence of audience shift: Adding an online survey option to CMH's annual print survey of the community correlated with increased participation from younger respondents.

What's next

The next phase for Vitality focuses on using the publication more deliberately to support growth and workforce priorities, without losing its community-education purpose. With Coffey, CMH plans to:

• Build a three-issue specialty spotlight on cardiology, orthopedics and general surgery in "Ask the Expert" to support recruitment/retention and service line growth.
• Refine the reader survey to reduce fatigue and improve participation, especially among older adults.
• Refine QR performance (how and where QR codes are placed, plus giving readers a reason to scan).

Why it matters

CMH demonstrates a practical "best of both worlds" model for healthcare publications:

• Local trust and relevance (CMH's voice, resources and community specifics).
• A scalable editorial engine (content foundation that supports timelines and quality).
• High production value under pressure (design and structure that improve pickup, comprehension and provider visibility).

CMH shows how a blended publication strategy can keep communications steady—while still feeling fresh, local and reader-first.

Categories: Print