Health organization - Essay Example

Health Organization Unlike other business organizations, health organizations are faced with various marketing challenges. These challenges affect different aspects of marketing such as price and promotion. Saint Anthony is a leading diabetes treatment centres in Chicago. The healthy centre has been in existence since 1965 despite the numerous challenges that it faces. Saint Anthony centre for diabetes handles various cases that are related to nutrition, obesity, and metabolism. In addition, the hospital handles chronic conditions that affect diabetes patients.

This paper will therefore analyse the marketing strategies of Saint Anthony’s hospital. The marketing mix (4 Ps) is one of the most common tools used to explain marketing phenomenon. The 4 Ps of marketing are products, place, price and promotion. The main product that the centre offers is treatment of diabetes and related complications. This is done through medication, or putting the patients (clients) on diet programs. The hospital also offers counselling services to patients with chronic conditions or those who are suffering from depression because of their ailments.

Other products that the hospital offers are testing kits that are used by patients to test the level of sugars in their blood. Unlike other health organizations, saint Anthony diabetes centre offer comprehensive services to its customers. The hospital not only treats the medical condition by giving its patients control and regulation medications, but it offers counselling service to its patient. This is a critical aspect, since diabetes is a chronic disease that leaves its patients exposed to psychological depressions.

The hospital has also enabled its patient to be able to monitor their health condition using the blood-sugar level test kits. This enables patients to monitor their health condition constantly without going to the health centre. Finally, the hospital offers its services in both English and Spanish. This has enabled the hospital to serve a wide range of customers. Saint Anthony serves its patient through its main centre in Chicago and other affiliated centres and clinics that are found in other major cities.

In addition, the hospital has outreach programs that targets corporate and schools. Through the outreach programs, the hospital offers education on healthy nutrition and the significance of physical exercise. Price is a critical factor that affects the sustainability of business. The price of the products also determines the class of customers that a business attracts. The centre has compressive price strategies that cater for all its customers. The government and other organizations that are concerned with diabetes subsidize treatment for diabetic patients.

Promotion involves informing the customers about the products offered by the business. The hospital markets its products through the media and field practice. Outreach programs in schools and corporate are some of the strategies that the hospital use to market its products. The centre mainly promote its services and products through partnership with schools and corporate. Relationship with these marketing partners is based on the special requirement of each of the marketing centres. For instance, a corporate has requirements and expectations that are different from those of schools.

In addition, the marketing collaborates benefits from the partnerships and the services offered by the centre. Affiliate schools use the partnership as a platform to promote healthy behaviours among their students. For instance, drug abuse and poor eating habits promote chronic conditions such as depression and cancer. These factors are also known to promote diabetes. Thus, schools consider this partnership as an opportunity to educate their students on healthy lifestyles. Similarly, the partnership benefits both the hospital and the corporate.

Most professionals are faced with the challenge of balancing their professional life and social life leading to health complications. Corporate have the responsibility of ensuring that their staff leads healthy lifestyles. This not only guarantees them continuity of their business but outstanding performance by their workers. Thus, the health of workers is significant to the progress of the corporate. Corporate view their partnership with the diabetes centre as an opportunity to inform their worker about their value to the corporate.

Corporate also use the opportunity to develop the relationship among their staff and the relationship between their staff and the business. Saint Anthony hospital also collaborates with other government and non-governmental organizations that are concerned with diabetes. These include American Diabetic Association that is based in Illinois. The hospital collaborates with the organizations in its research activities. In return, hospital benefits from medical equipment and training of its staff members.

The hospital also collaborates with the media through its outreach programs. The ABC television and Oprah Winfrey show are some of the beneficiaries of the partnership. The media use this partnership as an opportunity to educate its audience about healthy lifestyles. On the other hand, hospital representatives use the opportunity to inform its potential customers about various services offered in saint Anthony centres and clinics. The centre has a wide range of clients. The diversity of the hospital enables it to deal with patient from different background.

Initially the hospital has concentrated on the elderly generation. This is because older people are at greater risks of acquiring chronic diseases than young people are. Twenty five per cent of the cases that the hospital deals with are related to poor eating habits while the remaining percentage is composed of diabetic patients. People aged above 50 years compose more than 80% of the hospitals patients. Individuals aged between 7 and 15 years account for 15% of the patients (SAHC, 2010). These proportions indicate a changing trend in the American population in relation to the health problems treated by the hospitals.

According to the demographic ratios, individuals aged between 7 and 15 are at a greater risk of acquiring diabetes and diet related complications than the older generations. This indicates a shift in the target market. The hospital needs to set resources that would enable it to cope with the rising cases of individuals suffering from diabetes. This indicates that the hospitals need to increase its collaboration with schools in order to benefit from the changing trends. The hospital also needs to increase awareness of diabetes and dietary related problems among parents.

This would create awareness among parents concerning the vulnerability of their children to diabetes and dietary related complications. Targeting this market is not only significant to the hospital but also the country. Reference SAHC (2010). Center for Diabetes. Saintanthonyhospital. Retrieved from http://www.saintanthonyhospital.org/DepartmentsServices/SpecialtyClinics/CenterForDiabetes/tabid/132/Default.aspx