Floodwaters rising, Innovis Health dived into social media

Blogs and tweets kept locals informed about clinics, provided a link to FEMA and news outlets

You could say Innovis Health in North Dakota got its feet wet with social media.

One March day in Fargo, it started raining. And it didn’t stop. The Red River rose more than 20 feet above flood level. Next, the city was pounded with about 10 inches of snow.

Roads closed. Cell phones were jammed. Nursing homes, schools and the other main hospital in Fargo evacuated.

President Obama declared a state of emergency.

But Innovis Health didn’t shut its doors. The communications team jumped on its newly created blog and Twitter account to let people know it was operating.

Before the flood, the communications team planned to use social media. Forget a special launch program or a rollout of the tools; they had to act fast once the waters started rising.

With four ad agency team members in Minnesota and hospital management and marketing staff, they worked together on a blog and Twitter account to keep the community informed about the flood and the hospital.

The hospital used social media to connect with patients, staff, emergency authorities, public, media and volunteers.