St. John’s Hospital - Specific Purpose Tax Campaign

Situation Analysis

Flitner Communications coordinated a campaign strategy for St. John’s Hospital in Teton County, Wyoming, first to gain the support of elected officials for inclusion on a special election ballot, and secondly to secure the support of the community and win the election.

The sixth cent sales tax ballot question was up for public examination, and voters would decide which of the $100 million in project hopefuls would gain be awarded a portion of the tax revenue for the next 5 or 6 years. St. John’s Hospital was one of nearly 20 projects seeking inclusion on the ballot and approval at the polls. The community hospital’s need was two-fold: they needed a portion of the tax monies to help them purchase property for affordable and transitional housing for employees, and the bulk of the $12.1 million would support renovation and expansion of current clinical, educational and training space. Expansion of the space to meet growing population needs would be impossible without assistance from the specific purpose tax monies.

Objectives

• To educate elected officials about the hospital’s critical needs, and to position the hospital favorably in comparison to the other applicants.
• To educate the community at large on the needs of the hospital, and how meeting those needs would positively impact community member.
• To gain placement on the ballot, and to ultimately win majority voter support.

Tactics

• Developed key talking points along with simple maps of the proposed project to use in speaking engagements, mailings and media outreach.
• Met with all elected officials, and arranged site visits, complete with examples of broom closets being used as stress test labs! Highlighted quality of care, and its need for proper space and working conditions.
• Organized grass roots advocates to participate with letters to the editor, speeches at public meetings, and recording of radio promotions.
• Used grass roots advocates to build support with the town and county elected officials, who ultimately decided the projects for the ballot.
• Developed a series of simple brochures in a Q and A format, to highlight answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about the project, its needs, and its costs. Distributed them at Rotary meetings, the health fair, the Chamber of Commerce meetings, and as a direct mail piece to hospital database.
• Worked with hospital marketing staff to develop key messages and calendar for press releases and meetings with editors of the local media.
• Printed buttons for supporters to wear at Health Fair and around town, which said “Support a healthy Jackson Hole, Vote YES for St. John’s.”
• Enlisted volunteers and hospital trustees to carry groceries to cars on busy weekend mornings at the large, local grocery store.
• Fall and Spring semester class schedules were revamped and distributed to all boxholders in the county, once before spring semester and once prior to fall semester.

Results

• St. John’s Hospital was included with nearly around 10 other projects on the ballot, and was granted the opportunity to ask voters for $9.1 million in support.
• St. John’s Hospital was successful at the polls, and won over 60% of the vote.