WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 Holly Potter, vice president, Public Relations, National Media and Stakeholder Management for Kaiser Permanente, received the "PR Team Leader" award at PR News' PR People luncheon held at the National Press Club.
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PR News' PR People Awards competition showcases the top innovators and professionals who day in and day out are making communications matter in the marketplace. The winners of this year's program set the benchmark for PR and underscore the outstanding PR achievements made in the past year.
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This highly competitive award is judged by an esteemed panel of PR executives, as well as by the staff of PR News, for campaigns, efforts, or individuals and their leadership qualities, innovative thinking, flexibility and financial management skills, among other qualities.
Ms. Potter and the public relations team do the critical work of positioning Kaiser Permanente in the hearts and minds of the organization's key stakeholders, including patients, prospective members, clinicians, journalists, policymakers and executives.
"Holly rose from a being a senior communications consultant for Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record, to a communications director position, and then to vice president of our national public relations work in just four years," Ms. Gage Lofgren said. "I am consistently impressed with her deep knowledge of the organization and its business priorities, her embrace and quick mastery of all forms of communications, and her strategic planning skills."
The title of "PR Team Leader" is fitting for Ms. Potter, as in her position she supervises more than 25 public relations staff who work on a variety of priority areas: business-to-business communications, research, media relations, philanthropy, sustainability, health IT, and health care reform, to name a few. Her impressive knowledge base, strategic insight and understanding of the organization and its people allow her to counsel her team members regardless of their focus area. Shortly after assuming leadership of the internal PR Team, GolinHarris joined as the agency of record. Under her leadership, the internal and agency teams work together seamlessly to spread the organization's messages and affect public opinion.
The results of Ms. Potter's hard work have been dramatic, including a 246 percent increase in positive media coverage of Kaiser Permanente from 2006 to 2008, and a 191 percent increase from 2007 to 2008. She has led her team to establish a national speakers' bureau and created overarching message architecture to ensure consistency across the organization.
One of Ms. Potter's most innovative programs is Kaiser Permanente's social media strategy. Kaiser Permanente's presence and interaction in this space are directly due to her work, vision and leadership. Individually, she is one of the most followed health care leaders on Twitter and is also an active member of Disruptive Women in Health Care. She is also a sought-after speaker on social media and has spoken at events including a recent keynote at the Mayo-Ragan Healthcare and Social Media Conference and a session at the World Health Care Innovation and Technology Congress.
Ms. Potter leads by example: she is committed to the organization, works tirelessly to promote Kaiser Permanente's business objectives, and sets a high bar for excellence for herself and her team. She demonstrates grace under pressure and can be relied upon for her sound strategic counsel, careful advice and contributions. Ms. Potter is often recognized for the intangibles of her work, the way she treats all team members with respect, and always has time to consult colleagues.
Ms. Potter is an experienced health communications strategist, and she has held a variety of leadership positions directing a broad range of communications and advocacy campaigns. She brought to Kaiser Permanente a proven 15-year track record of award-winning public relations programs that influence stakeholders and shift public opinion. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, she ran HTPotter Communications, LLC, which served a variety of nonprofit and government clients in California and Washington, D.C.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
SOURCE Kaiser Permanente
