You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t support providing necessary medical care to sick children, particularly when that care is provided at one of the premier hospital facilities in the nation. But expanding Seattle Children’s was a complicated and difficult effort – one that required navigation of two complex regulatory processes and also would have an impact on the surrounding neighborhood for years to come.
That’s why Children’s brought EnviroIssues on board to help. Beginning in 2006, we worked with the hospital to build awareness about the need for expansion. We developed and implemented their initial public and stakeholder involvement plan. Since that time we have provided strategic communication and outreach planning and implementation including public meetings and events, key messages and public information materials, government and media relations support.
Children’s plan to expand their campus brought a high level of public attention. Using our strong knowledge of engaging the public through these processes, we helped the hospital strategically involve immediate neighbors, elected officials, community leaders, and stakeholders across four states – Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. To engage this larger, broad audience, our team designed and built a website dedicated to sharing involvement opportunities, status updates, and breaking down the complex regulatory processes into simple, easy- to-understand terms.
As a result of the hospital’s thorough engagement efforts, the City of Seattle approved their expansion plans in April 2010.