‘Tis the Season of Giving—and of Getting to Know New Prospective Patients

The holiday season brings out not only the average person’s generous side, but also more social activity, celebratory dinners, and travel to areas where they probably don’t have access to their usual healthcare facilities. So, getting your name out there at this time of year can reap untold benefits. One good way is to join with your community to help the less fortunate among us. Integrated Medical Alliance (IMA) Urgent Care and Primary Care in Monmouth County, NJ, for example, is hosting a food drive to support a local charity. IMA is encouraging residents to drop off food items at select clinics—at which time they’ll also be introduced to the facility and the front desk staff, and realize how convenient it would be to drop in when someone in the family needs immediate care. Banner Urgent Care in Arizona is taking another approach, working with a local courier service that will pick up toys for underprivileged children, as well as kids in the hospital, and deliver them to collection centers at various Banner facilities. In both cases, the urgent care operators are presenting themselves as community-minded, proactive neighbors who want to pitch in. Anyone who is unfamiliar with them will automatically have a positive first impression, which will likely translate into numerous first-time visits—and, hopefully, long-time customers over time.