MUSC launches Social Media Newsroom for real-time information on medical news and research

Medical University of South CarolinaOct 21 2009

News Facts:

• As the editorial landscape continues to evolve with the emergence of social media, many people struggle to find trusted resources that offer accurate, real time information related to healthcare news and research.
• Today, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) unveils a new Social Media Newsroom where the editorial and patient community have 24/7 access to real-time information related to important medical news and research.
• The site includes several categories of information featuring life-saving patient stories, breaking medical advances and helpful tips for the community. There is a multimedia gallery rich with content such as Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Blog postings and Tweets, and news related to the community, and medical advances in children's health, neuroscience, depression and transplants. These topics will be updated regularly.
• MUSC Health has more than 750 podcasts, 150 videos on the MUSC Health YouTube Channel and 1900 Twitter followers.

Feature Stories:

The site includes a section of revolving feature stories and blog posts that offer great fodder for health journalists and bloggers to develop interesting, dynamic stories with multimedia content. Current features include:

• The story of Dr. Dilan Ellegala, a neurosurgeon from MUSC, who developed an innovative training program in Tanzania to empower locals with the skills and training necessary to perform simple brain surgery and then pass that knowledge on to future generations to ensure the work continued. Video footage and photos from MUSC physicians, nurses and students who visited the village and helped train the local healthcare providers are available.
• A feature about an MUSC student who gave the gift of life to a stranger who suffered through 15 years of dialysis for a failing kidney. Photos and video documenting this story are available.
• The story of a friendship that formed between a group of US Marines and an Iraqi police lieutenant that led to the treatment of the lieutenant's five-year-old son who suffered from a life threatening heart defect. The Marines raised the funds necessary for MUSC to perform a life-saving surgical procedure. A photo collage and link to an ABC World News segment of their journey is available.

Community Features and Personal Stories:

• The site also features top-of-mind medical news and information on a monthly basis. For October, the site features comprehensive information such as:
  
  • H1N1 and seasonal flu information
  • Breast Cancer information in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• There is also a section called Your Story where patients can share information about their medical journeys and post their story, videos and photos.

Quotes attributable to Kathleen Ellis, Director of National Communications, Medical University of South Carolina:

"We are excited to introduce a newsroom that offers the most dynamic multimedia content available through social media platforms like YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and blogs. As a medical center of excellence, it's particularly fitting for the Medical University of South Carolina to also now have the most advanced technology available to bring the editorial community, as well as our medical patients and staff, such valuable information."

"The real value of a social media newsroom is that it's interactive, offering MUSC the opportunity to share the latest medical breakthroughs with our patients, journalists and our community -- and with the power of social media, we have a greater chance to build relationships and further dialogue about healthcare."