Simplifying the complex
Click the image to download a sample edition. (PDF)
The Fresno Unified School District’s Joint Health Management Board (or FUSD JHMB) manages healthcare and health benefits for the school district’s employees. So by definition, it’s organizational structure is a bit ungainly. It’s comprised of representatives from nearly a dozen labor unions, School District management, and healthcare-management vendors and administrators chosen by mutual agreement. Add to the mix the notion that each of those entities has its own agenda, and you’ll get an idea of this newsletter’s true complexity.
And yet, this newsletter needed to reach the District’s employees with good, practical information about how to best use their healthcare benefits. It also needed to keep those employees on top of the constant changes to those plans and the benefits they provided.
I managed that complexity by hosting a virtual Editorial Kickoff meeting for each edition, where I would bring representatives of each organization together to discuss what priorities existed for an edition. I would seek information about changes in the plans, and about how those changes could affect employees at all levels and their dependents. Finally, I would go through a design-and-approval process where every party had review and veto power, so everything published was approved by everyone involved.
Their goal was to “better connect people with their benefits.” I achieved this by telling memorable and engaging stories about how people used those benefits.
Samples:
- ‘Fear of the doctor not so healthy,’ an article from HealthConnect
- ‘Meeting the challenges of life stress,’ an article from HealthConnect
- June 2011 edition of HealthConnect (PDF)
- March 2011 edition of HealthConnect (PDF)
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