Storytelling, then Everything Else: a Press Event to Remember

So much of the work that we do with our clients — from social media strategy to policy advocacy to press events — ultimately boils down to one thing: storytelling.

Much like planning a good lobby day, the golden rule is getting out of the way. Advocates have a story to share, and they should be encouraged to share it in their own words.

So they can handle the What. But as for the Who, When, Where, and How? Well, that’s where we come in.

Last Tuesday, we were honored to do exactly that, helping to organize a press event we just can’t get off our minds, even more than a week later. Specifically, as part of our ongoing work with the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, we handled logistics for a presser at Southpointe Psychiatry & Wellness in Canonsburg.

Speaking was PA Senator Camera Bartolotta, whose SB 25 would immediately improve patient access to health care (both physical and mental) by granting full practice authority to Pennsylvania NPs. She was joined by Lisa Raerhys, President of NAMI Washington County PA; Kirstyn Kameg, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, Co-founder of Peace of Mind Psychiatry; AND Jen Bowman, DNP, PMHNP, co-founder of Southpointe Psychiatry & Wellness.

Denny Civic Solutions was responsible for inviting the press, drafting and distributing the media advisory and press release, pushing out on social media, and helping with message development. 

So that’s the Who, the When, the Where, and the How. But it brings us back to the What – and, as expected, it was the speakers’ own stories, in their own words, that struck a chord…and made this press event unforgettable.

Specifically, it was Jen Bowman sharing her own recent breast cancer diagnosis that moved every single person in the room, and those watching online. 

Even as she begins treatment and gears up for a fight unlike any other, Jen was able to connect her own story to the critical need to increase patient access to healthcare. 

As she faces significant time away from work, the lack of full practice authority for Pennsylvania NPs makes it drastically harder (and more expensive) for Southpointe to find additional Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners to help with patients. At the most difficult moment in her life, Jen is also dealing with the very real impact of a policy that puts PA patients at risk.

Our sincere thanks go to Jen, Lisa, Kirstyn, Senator Bartolotta, and the whole PCNP team for making this press event one to remember. In telling their stories, they not only secured excellent media coverage, but put a real human face on a policy issue that impacts Pennsylvania patients every day. 

Read more about the event — and how full practice authority helps PA patients — in this great piece from the Observer-Reporter.