Community Health Clinic Launch

Challenge
Community Ministries of Rockville (CMR), a non-profit organization that operates health and social services programs, asked VE & Co. to help raise awareness about the opening of the Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic in Rockville, MD and the businesses that support it.

Providing medical and health services to uninsured and underinsured residents of Montgomery County, the newly-constructed Kaseman Clinic expands CMR’s Mansfield Kaseman Health Program to address the growing need for access to primary healthcare services in the community. The Kaseman Clinic operates in collaboration with the Primary Care Coalition, Montgomery Cares, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and the Community Services Division of the City of Rockville, and Care For Your Health, Inc.

Solution
To raise community awareness about the clinic and its sponsors, VE & Co. executed an extensive media relations campaign and provided event planning services to CMR for the dedication ceremony of the clinic, which was attended by city, county, and state elected officials; supporting businesses; community members and the media.

To support CMR in its fundraising efforts to increase the number of people the clinic can serve, VE & Co. also assisted in planning a fundraising event that brought together current and potential clinic sponsors and donors, such as Adventist Health Care Community Partnership Fund, CTIS, The Washington Group of MassMutual, and the Susan B. Komen Foundation.

Results
The Kaseman Clinic dedication ceremony attracted more than 150 community members, partners, donors, and officials, including Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, Maryland State Senator Jennie Forehand, State of Maryland Secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene John Colmers, and City of Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio. From January to March 2010, VE & Co. helped CMR raise $35,000 in private donations for the clinic.

Through VE & Co.’s media relations strategy, the event and clinic sponsors received highly visible news coverage from several media including NBC4 Washington, WUSA Channel 9, Comcast, NewsChannel 8, Montgomery County Cable, The Gazette, and online media.