West Virginia University Hospitals
Department of Neurosurgery

West Virginia University Hospitals Department of Neurosurgery recently approached Widmeyer to help improve its visibility nationally, specifically by drawing attention to its innovative surgical programs, teams of surgeons and groundbreaking research studies.

The challenge for Widmeyer lay in distinguishing West Virginia University Hospitals from other medium-sized hospital systems and to make it known as a neurosurgical hospital of choice, regionally and nationally. We also needed to position the Department’s surgeons as thought leaders and valuable resources in the neurosurgical community.

To meet this challenge, we developed a variety of tools and undertook communications outreach efforts that included:

•	Conducting a series of interviews with neurosurgeons, neurologists and health reporters who live in regional markets to measure the awareness of, and attitudes toward, the Department of Neurosurgery.
•	Developing message points to positively position services, surgeons, and research with key constituencies.
•	Leveraging the expertise of Dr. Julian Bailes, the Department’s chairman, in the media, particularly his expertise on steroids and ephedra. Additionally, we coordinated the promotion of the book, Steroids, Supplements, and Scandal in Today’s Sports World, which Bailes co-authored with sportswriter John McCloskey.
•	Culling through the neurosurgeons’ research, making complex ideas understandable to key audiences.

Results

Widmeyer’s work with the Department of Neurosurgery is on-going, but our work to date has proven incredibly successful. Dr. Bailes gained national exposure for his expertise on steroids, appearing on the CBS Early Show, Comcast SportsNet, ABC Radio Network, and The Score (a popular sports show in Ontario, Canada) and he was quoted in Education Week. Dr. Bailes also gained national exposure for his expertise on ephedra having been quoted in articles in The New York Times and Reuters.

Finally, Widmeyer raised national awareness of cutting edge WVU stroke research. Through Widmeyer's outreach efforts, this stroke research garnered national media attention with articles on the several Web sites, including ABC News, Forbes, United Press International, Medical News Today, Innovations Report, and Washington Times.