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3 Quick Tips for Writing a Better Byline

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Of all the deliverables we routinely encounter in public relations, none presents as much of a challenge as the humble byline.

Press releases are necessarily to-the-point and formulaic. Blog posts are often quick-and-dirty shorter pieces that are meant to quickly touch on a specific topic, rather than delve in deeply. (White papers don’t qualify as “routine” as they should be employed sparingly; once per quarter, at most, and even that may be pushing it.)

Bylines, however, are altogether different. To craft a coherent, well-reasoned, nonpromotional 800 to 1,000-word article that offers background, explanation and possible solutions on a pressing industry issue is difficult for a writer to do even in his or her own voice. Add to it the PR writer’s challenge of crafting the piece using the client’s thoughts in the client’s voice and the exercise becomes significantly more arduous.

In that spirit, following are three quick tips for writing a better byline.

Develop a written plan before any phone calls: To make the best use of subject matter experts’ (SMEs) time, start planning your byline long before any phone calls. What’s the major theme or “angle” you’re looking to convey to the reader? Start by brainstorming potential headlines, and then after you have a few, write out what could be the first couple sentences of the article. If you’re unable to get this far, it’s a strong sign your plan for the article isn’t solid enough, and it’s time to refine or rethink the angle.

Do your research: It’s fairly rare to find an idea that is completely new. In other words, whatever you’re planning to write about, it’s likely someone else has written about the same, or a similar, topic previously. Do a few variations of Google searches around the topic you’re planning to write about to evaluate what’s been said before. This will provide an idea of the well-trodden ground that’s been discussed ad nauseum and is better avoided, as well potentially spark ideas for new angles. Further, avail yourself of the research that other writers have performed. Good reporters will “show their receipts” in their articles with links to studies, surveys, data and other articles that can provide helpful background. Save time and boost efficiency by taking advantage of the work that’s already been done.

Come up with a targeted list of questions: Also filed under, “Don’t waste SMEs’ time.” Draw up a list of targeted questions for call participants to review prior to the call. In my experience, the top reason byline intake calls go off-the-rails is lack of preparation. Following a list of predetermined questions enables participants to remain focused and helps keep the call running smoothly. If you’re lucky, the SME will even read over the questions prior to the call and ponder potential responses, which generally helps immensely to boost a byline’s quality in the end.

Due to the nature of what we’re trying to accomplish with bylines, they’ll always be challenging to write. But there is a formula for success. Follow the three tips above to craft better bylines.

Bulldog PR Awards 2020 Honors Amendola for Air Methods Crisis Management Campaign and Vocera Product Launch

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. June 4, 2020 Amendola Communications announced today that it has won two 2020 Bulldog PR Awards, solidifying the company’s reputation as a top public relations (PR) and marketing communications agency for healthcare and health IT. The Bulldog PR Awards, which celebrate the best and brightest corporate communications and PR efforts, honored Amendola with a Gold award for a Crisis Communication campaign for its client Air Methods and a Silver award for a Business-to-Business (B2B) Product Launch campaign for long-time client Vocera Communications.

“We are proud to be recognized for the hard work that our team put into executing both metrics-driven campaigns,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola. “From September 1, 2018 to July 30, 2019, Air Methods saw their positive PR coverage double from 28% to 45%. The success of the Vocera campaign in generating both traditional and new media hits will serve as a blueprint for future product introductions.”

AIR METHODS

“Amendola Helps Air Methods’ Reputation Take Flight” campaign took Gold in the Best Crisis Management category. Emergency air medical transport service Air Methods called upon Amendola after facing ongoing negative coverage about their pricing model which had been misrepresented by former patients in the media. Amendola took innovative steps through social media outreach, proactive storytelling, localized base engagements, and digital media to change the public perception of Air Methods and the quality of media coverage about the company.

Amendola created an all-encompassing, 40-page, multi-pronged crisis communications playbook to anticipate and help address a myriad of potential challenges. Additionally, the agency crafted a proactive storytelling pipeline that included information about Air Methods’ business goals to curb balance bills, showcased positive patient stories and highlighted the innovative clinical processes that Air Methods created that were impacting the industry. With the proactive storytelling, a large element of the strategy was to implement Air Methods’ first-ever integrated marketing campaign to leverage more channels than ever before to ensure all stakeholders received the message.

By placing a human face on the company Air Methods has been able to use their visibility as an industry leader to encourage other changes to industry practices. For example, it eliminated “memberships” that offered little value if patients were transported by a different company and is now pushing the industry as a whole to do the same.

VOCERA COMMUNICATIONS

“Vocera Calls on Amendola to Introduce Smartbadge Wearable Communications Device” campaign took Silver in the Best B2B Product Launch category. Vocera Communications, whose mission is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operation efficiency, launched a voice-activated communications badge, the Smartbadge. A new category of wearable communication devices, the “Smartbadge” enables clinicians to communicate using all the options available in the expanded Vocera Platform voice calling, messaging, clinical alerts/alarms and more.

With intentions of making a splash from the start, Vocera turned to Amendola to develop an integrated PR/marketing strategy that encompassed generating quick visibility during the introductory period (January-February) while also being sustainable throughout 2019. To seed early coverage, Amendola pre-pitched a press release to healthcare and national media journalists, including broadcast media and podcasts. Furthermore, the plan called for the creation of various writing pieces as it relates to communication in healthcare, aggressive content marketing efforts for infographics, and the submission of Vocera executives for a broad range of speaking opportunities.

The initiative resulted in 29 high value, single-focus features or interviews, four byline placements, three confirmed speaker opportunities, and a prestigious MedTech Breakthrough Award. Additionally, the campaign significantly impacted its Twitter presence resulting in 173% rise in @mentions received, 145% rise in new followers, 312% increase in retweets, 429% increase in click-throughs, and nearly 50% rise in impressions to 12,200.

About Amendola  
Amendola is an award-winning national public relations, marketing communications, digital and content marketing firm. Named one of the best information technology (IT) PR firms in the nation four times by PRSourceCode, Amendola represents some of the best-known brands and groundbreaking startups in the healthcare and HIT industries. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros delivers strategic guidance and effective solutions to help organizations boost their reputation and drive market share. For more information about the PR industry’s “A Team,” visit”https://www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow Amendola on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Media Contact: 
Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications, 480.664.8412 ext. 15 / mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com

Walking the Tightrope between Great Content and SEO

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It may not quite be Lincoln and Douglas, or even great taste/less filling. But the debate about which is more important to a brand’s online presence great content or search engine optimization (SEO) continues to rage on.

On one side you have the writers. Especially the “old school” writers (like me) who launched their careers long before Al Gore invented the Internet.

When I started writing we used typewriters electric ones. I’m not that old. The total focus was on the quality of the content. Clever, attention-grabbing headlines that led into powerful, motivating body copy that carried the message in an interesting way was “all” that was required.

Then came the Internet, and with it the omnipotent search engines. No longer was it enough for headlines and copy to be creative and interesting. The data wonks said it also had to include certain keywords that would tell the search engines a particular page or document was relevant to the search the user was conducting.

In other words, if the user is searching on the term “crazy bunnies” it was important for those keywords to appear in the headline, and in the little words that came after. Especially the first paragraph.

While that makes sense from a data point of view, it definitely created a dilemma for writers. Having a brilliant headline was no longer enough, because you weren’t just trying to capture the attention of humans. You also had to capture the attention of the machines.

That situation set up a sort of chicken-and-egg dilemma. You could write the best website, or article, or other content in the world, but if no one could find it in a marketing world that increasingly relied on search what was the point?

On the other hand, if your document was easy to find due to liberal use of keywords but not very interesting or engaging, again what was the point? You’d lose the audience you’d worked so hard to capture.

It also led to practices such as keyword stuffing (including keywords out of context for the sole purpose of raising searching rankings) and a host of other tricks such as putting keywords on a page in the same color as the background so they couldn’t be seen by humans but would be read by web crawlers. Didn’t take long for the search engines to figure that one out.

Keeping the balance

Fortunately, Google (and other search engines no one really cares about) have continually updated their algorithms to go beyond simple keywords. They are getting better and better at determining the context of the content to ensure it’s actually relevant.

Still, keywords are important to success. So how do you reconcile the desire to write content that reaches people on a deep, human level with the need to tell the machines yes, this is the information they’ve been looking for?

Here is a process I’ve found to be effective.

  1. Start by knowing which keywords are ranking for the topic you want to promote. If you don’t already have a list, you can use Google AdWords, a free service, to plug in some terms that are relevant to your product/service. Then see which ones have relatively high search volumes with low competition. That will tell you what terms your audience is likely to be searching on, and how difficult it will be to rank high for them. The goal, of course, is page one above the fold. Be sure to check Google’s suggested substitutions too. There may be a more effective word or phrase lurking in there somewhere. Of course, if you have an agency (such as, oh, I dunno, Amendola Communications) you can hand that work off to them.
  2. Once you have your list, set it aside. Then develop the content in a way that is the most interesting and speaks to your audience(s). Don’t worry about keywords right now. Just make sure you’re telling a good story that demonstrates your knowledge and/or experience and convinces your target audience that you would be the best choice. In other words, write as though the Internet doesn’t exist.
  3. After you have great content, go back and look for places to plug in your keywords. Start with the headline and the first paragraph. Is there a way to work in your most important keyword? Then sprinkle in others throughout the rest of the content. In some cases it may require a bit of rewriting, but often you’ll be surprised at how easily a keyword can be substituted for another word or phrase. Writing in this fashion, rather than trying to write to the keywords initially, will help the keywords fit more organically, and will keep you from writing dull and, well, robotic content.
  4. Finally, when you think it’s ready to go have someone who hasn’t been involved in the process read it to ensure those keywords are fitting in as well as you think they are. Taking this extra step doesn’t just help with human readers, by the way. With the sophisticated machine learning many search engines are applying these days it will also help minimize any appearance that you’re trying to “game” the system. Instead, your keywords will fit in the context of your content, and you will be rewarded by Google, the Great and Powerful.

Walk the line

Great content and SEO don’t have to be treated as opposing forces. In fact, they can (and should) work very well together.

By focusing first on what you want to say, and then bringing in the flags that will help that great content get seen, you can bring customers and prospects to your website and make sure they’re delighted once they get there.

TAGNOS engages Amendola for strategic public relations and content marketing services

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Healthcare agency to elevate awareness programs for “care traffic control” and the orchestration of clinical logistics automation

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 22, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing firm, announced that TAGNOS has hired the agency to provide strategic PR and content marketing services.

TAGNOS, located in Aliso Viejo, Calif., develops leading clinical logistics automation for hospitals and clinics. TAGNOS’ software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform is designed to orchestrate hospital workflows by infusing AI and machine learning into the practice of medicine to improve the patient experience, reduce wait times, improve staff efficiency and optimize supply and equipment utilization.   

Amendola Communications CEO Jodi Amendola said: “TAGNOS offers a unique and proven clinical logistics automation solution that can be used in hospital and medical systems nationwide, with the potential to expand in other outpatient and emergency settings. We are looking forward to helping them expand their industry awareness and lead generation capabilities through valuable, strategic PR and marketing communications.”

Specific to operating rooms (ORs), the patented TAGNOS OR workflow solution aggregates and analyzes data from radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on patient wristbands, as well as information from hospital systems, to provide real-time insights into patient journeys through the surgical suite. According to TAGNOS, with its OR solution, hospital systems can realize a reduction of more than 12% in OR turnover times.

For emergency departments (EDs), TAGNOS ED workflow solution uses a machine-learning and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven application and location data to smooth unpredictable settings by making sense of patients and data, providing unified workflows, and improving team communication.

The solution is also used for hospital and medical center enterprise-wide asset tracking, allowing clinical personnel and staff to find needed equipment without unnecessary footsteps.  

Insights are communicated via the TAGNOS app to OR/ED teams’ handheld devices, eliminating the need for other time-consuming activities such as telephone calls, computer logins or physically tracking down team members.

“We were drawn to Amendola’s expertise in healthcare and health IT as well as their insider perspective based on the team’s work with major health systems,” said Neeraj Bhavani, CEO and founder of TAGNOS. “Amendola’s media and analyst relationships as well as their industry accolades for their strategic approach to PR and marketing are already bringing us results. Our relationship will enhance TAGNOS’ ability to spread the word about our proven solutions for orchestrating healthcare delivery.”

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About TAGNOS

TAGNOS is the clinical logistics automation solution healthcare teams use to orchestrate the functional aspects of care delivery.  Our company offers a wide range of products and services designed to support OR and ED patient flow as well as asset and supply management. TAGNOS is the only company with an AI application that uses machine learning combined with real-time data capturing capabilities to provide a system that continually updates and adjusts its operational intelligence to provide sustained improvement. Our system is configurable with custom notification and escalation workflows and flexible communication options including iOS or Android app, SMS or integration with existing mobile platforms. By transforming raw data into actionable intelligence, TAGNOS helps hospitals and health systems Orchestrate Excellence.  For more information visit tagnos.com, or follow on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Media contact:
Chris Currington
Amendola Communications
314.799.1987
ccurrington@acmarketingpr.com

Amendola Promotes Marcia Rhodes to Vice President

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., September 11, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, has promoted Marcia Rhodes to the position of Vice President, the agency announced today. The promotion is the latest in a steady progression of responsibility for Rhodes, who originally joined the agency in 2013 as Regional Managing Director before being promoted to National Managing Director. In each position, Rhodes held many integral roles in client relations, operations and human resources.

Marcia-Rhodes

As one of only two Vice Presidents in an agency that leans toward a flat hierarchy, Rhodes will continue to lead many of the agency’s client accounts, conduct media training and continue to build out the operational and human resources infrastructure that has made the agency a textbook example of the 21st century workplace flexible, nimble and tech-enabled, with strongly collaborative teams located throughout the country. Rhodes will also spearhead new recruitment programs to support the agency’s rapid expansion into digital marketing, analytics and event management.

“Marcia leads by example in everything she does, whether it’s working tirelessly to amplify our clients’ national and trade media coverage; onboarding new Amendola hires with her typical warmth and thoroughness; or making sure that our remote teams have the most up-to-date tools and processes they need for client success. Additionally, she is a highly respected mentor to numerous Amendola employees,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola.

She added, “Marcia has taken on the well-deserved role of Vice President with her usual commitment to excellence. I can’t overstate how much she has helped to shape Amendola’s ideal culture to become the agency it is today; one that is known for high-performance, harmony and intellectual curiosity.”

Rhodes is a recognized public relations and marketing communications leader who has honed her skills over more than two decades. She has served in PR executive leadership roles in companies that, in addition to six years at Amendola, include WorldatWork, Six Sigma Academy, and Accenture, where she worked for 11 years.

Not only is Rhodes skilled in securing broad media coverage and coveted awards and speaking slots for Amendola clients, her own insights have been featured in publications that include the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun-Times, San Jose Mercury News, Columbus Dispatch, The Houston Chronicle, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Business Journal and several trade publications.

“This is such an exciting time for Amendola; our agency is growing as we continue to add the most innovative companies in healthcare to our client portfolio. It is a joy to recruit the best PR and marketing talent and set them up for success with what I believe is the most flexible, supportive and dynamic agency in the industry,” said Rhodes.

Amendola has a policy of promoting from within whenever possible. To nurture future leaders in the agency, employees are encouraged to regularly learn new skills and take on new responsibilities. Amendola also has a strong culture of mentoring and teamwork that further contributes to professional development. Each employee is assigned a “champion” or mentor, and teamwide collaboration is a feature of every client account.

Rhodes earned a M.A. in International Communications from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of the Philippines. She has been honored by the League of American Communications Professionals (for web site development and a client testimonial video) and by the International Association of Business Communicators (for newsletter writing).

Media Contact

Joy DiNaro
Amendola Communications
847.809.0406
jdinaro@acmarketingpr.com

PR Pros and Marketers: Take On Your Toughest Challenges with These Tips from Amendola

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Healthcare and Health IT full service agency Amendola Communications shares insights on preventing and mitigating a crisis, ending a publicity dry spell and proving that PR and marketing work

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 30, 2019 PR and marketing aren’t for the faint of heart. If we’re not trying to talk a reporter into writing about our company, we’re pleading with them not to write something that was spilled in an interview. One minute we’re confidently explaining how marketing will enable sales, only to find ourselves tongue-tied when asked exactly how to measure those efforts.

Fear not, PR and marketing pros: you can do this! Amendola, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, offers one of the most informative blogs available for taking on our profession’s most persistent problems. Check out some of our top posts this summer that give insight on crisis management, getting more pitches accepted, and yes measuring all of our stellar results.

To receive more tips like these from more than a dozen of the agency’s experts,

subscribe to the blog today.

How to break a pitching losing streak

You don’t have to be a crack marketer to get that a product based on a market want is more likely to succeed than one that isn’t. On the public relations side, however, there’s a tendency to pitch stories we want a journalist to cover instead of the other way around. No wonder then our pitches go unanswered or directed to e-Siberia: the reporter’s junk inbox. So how do we devise pitches that uncannily match a journalist’s interests and beat? In this informative post, Amendola’s managing director shares his tips for pitches that do exactly that. Read the full post here.

Nix media interview nervousness

We’ve seen it happen time and again. Someone who seems perfectly at ease whenever we encounter them becomes a different person altogether in a media interview. Suddenly, their confidence is replaced with an uncontrollable urge to ramble on and on in a fruitless search of a point any point. Unfortunately, that’s one of your few spokespeople. What to do? Start by watching this very short video from one of Amendola’s media training gurus. Even applying just a few of her tips can make a quick difference. Check out the video post here.

Create a better crisis response plan

You’ve spent considerable time putting together a crisis management plan that, hopefully, covers all the bases. But something important feels like it’s missing something that could derail even the best laid plan if you can’t remember it. Here’s what it is: more of a focus on what to do before and after the crisis. One of the most important prior to a crisis having enough goodwill on hand to survive it. Read all of the essential components here.

Make sure your marketing and PR measures up

If you can’t measure it, it didn’t happen, according to a frequently repeated maxim in our profession. Trouble is, when you try to figure out how to measure your own campaigns, you often wonder if you’re doing it right. There seem to be so many different opinions out there on the topic, and so much confusing lexicon. Until this blog post from an Amendola expert on PR and marketing metrics. We should all keep this terrific list on hand that details the top metrics that prove the impact of marketing and PR. Access the full list here.

What’s in a blog? In the Amendola blog, quite a bit! We cover all aspects of public relations and marketing, tackling difficult subjects with tried and tested strategies. A go-to source for communications professionals, the blog publishes on a weekly basis and features subject matter experts in every aspect of publicizing and marketing healthcare and health IT companies.

Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications, 480.664.8412 ext. 15 / mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com

HMS Engages Amendola to Drive Expansion Through PR and Media Relations

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 23, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, has announced it has been selected as the public relations and media relations partner for HMS, a leading healthcare technology company that helps healthcare organizations reduce costs and improve health outcomes.

Amendola will utilize a broad range of integrated PR, media relations and content development services to drive greater industry awareness of HMS’ innovative technology, analytics and engagement solutions that save public and commercial payers, as well as employers and at-risk healthcare providers, billions of dollars annually while helping consumers lead healthier lives. Chiefly, Amendola will be driving brand awareness of the HMS’ population health management solutions through earned thought leadership content, media outreach campaigns, conference speaking opportunities, as well as strategic PR counsel and planning.

“We need a savvy and skilled partner to hit the ground running as we expand our fast-growing population health management suite as well as our industry leading coordination of benefits and payment integrity solutions,” said HMS Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Maria Perrin. “Amendola’s decades-long healthcare and health technology expertise and experience is impressive, but what excites us the most is the proven results they’ve delivered for clients across a wide range of trade, national and local media, as well as through social platforms. Amendola is a perfect partner to help us generate the type of awareness and growth we’re pursuing in the highly competitive healthcare market.”

“HMS is an established health tech leader with an impressive track record of saving billions of dollars for their customers, while helping to improve health outcomes for consumers,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola Communications. “That’s why we are excited to partner with them as they expand their footprint in the growing population health management market segment with solutions that are both unique and drive real results.”

Founded in 1974, HMS is based in Irving, Texas, with more than 2,500 employees in 25-plus offices across the country. HMS’ customer base includes more than 40 state Medicaid programs and more than 325 health plans, including 23 of the top 25 health plans nationally based on membership. Customers also include more than 150 private employers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Veterans Affairs, pharmacy benefit managers and risk-bearing provider organizations, including independent practice associations, hospital systems, ACOs and specialty care organizations. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp., traded on NASDAQ (ticker: HMSY), and certified by HITRUST.

Amendola will promote HMS through numerous PR and content development programs, supported by Amendola’s top-tier industry and media relations. The agency will work with HMS to deliver to federal, state and commercial payers and risk-bearing provider organizations a broad range of targeted content, drawing on Amendola’s deep industry knowledge and diverse media relationships in healthcare, business and consumer media. Amendola also will be responsible for driving coverage of HMS’ leaders and highlighting how analytics can identify, stratify and guide members and patients toward healthier and adherent behaviors and away from adverse events, emergency department utilization and hospitalizations.

About HMS

HMS advances the healthcare system by helping healthcare organizations reduce costs and improve health outcomes. Through our industry-leading technology, analytics and engagement solutions, we save billions of dollars annually while helping consumers lead healthier lives. HMS provides a broad range of coordination of benefits, payment integrity, care management and consumer engagement solutions that help move the healthcare system forward.

Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes
Amendola Communications
480.664.8412 ext. 15
mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com

HIT PR Veteran Jodi Amendola Named Finalist on PR News

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2019 Top Women in Healthcare Awards

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.  July 9, 2019 Amendola Communications founder and CEO Jodi Amendola has been named a finalist for the PR News Top Women in Healthcare for 2019 award. The prestigious award recognizes the most innovative women in the healthcare public relations space. Amendola was singled out for her work leading and executing high-performing global communications campaigns for leaders in healthcare information technology, biotech and beyond.

Jodi Amendola

Other award finalists include executives from some of the nation’s best-known healthcare organizations, including Blue Cross NC, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, and Dignity Health.

Amendola is a recognized HIT PR veteran, who has won numerous industry awards, including PR News’ Top Women in PR for 2017, PRSourceCode’s “Top PR Pro” award (multiple years) and an elite Forty-Under-40 Business Leader by the Phoenix Business Journal.

Amendola and her team have created high-impact PR and marketing campaigns for an extensive client roster that has included Intel, McKesson, Allscripts, Health Catalyst, etc. Founded in 2004, Amendola Communications has been recognized by PRSourceCode as a “Best-of-the-Best” agency nationwide for several years, and the firm has been named a top Healthcare Agency in Ragan and PR Daily’s Ace Awards.

Amendola is an active member of the National Charity League and has served on numerous leadership boards, including AzHIMSS, the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, X2 Health Network, D.A.R.E. NJ and the Community Resource Council.

Most recently, Amendola was unanimously appointed to the board of the Help in Healing Home Foundation, a not-for-profit organization in Phoenix that offers low-cost lodging and care to patients recovering from major surgeries or awaiting transplants. Amendola Communications provides pro bono marketing and promotional PR support for the Foundation.

“I am so grateful for this honor and want to acknowledge my colleagues, clients, employees, associates and family who have supported me along the way,” said Jodi Amendola. “Being recognized by PR News is an honor that inspires me to give back. I am so proud of our agency’s mission to accelerate the market success of innovative health and healthcare technology companies, playing a vital role in improving the health of people everywhere.”

The Top Women in Healthcare Awards Luncheon will take place on July 16, 2019 at The Yale Club in New York City. The event will bring together female leaders from a wide range of healthcare organizations, all working to better the lives of patients and the broader community through their work.

Media contact:

Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications

mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com

480.664.8412 ext. 15

DisposeRx Engages Amendola for Strategic PR, Content, Social Media and Marketing Strategy and Services

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Healthcare agency to elevate PR and marketing program for drug disposal company

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 11, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing firm, announced today that DisposeRx, Inc., has hired the agency to provide strategic PR and marketing services, including media relations, content creation, marketing materials and social media.

DisposeRx, based in Sanford, NC, is committed to the eradication of leftover medications through its innovative, at-home technology. Through its proprietary blend of FDA-approved materials, DisposeRx provides an eco-friendly, site-of-use solution for the disposal of unused medications, meaning a drug can be safely, quickly and efficiently neutralized and disposed of wherever leftover drugs are kept, including the home medicine cabinet. The ability to bring the solution to the problem of leftover medications is especially important for opioids and other prescription drugs, which can lead to accidental poisonings especially in children and to drug diversion, abuse and death.

When water and the DisposeRx powder are added to medications in a pill bottle and shaken, the drugs dissolve and a gel is formed, rendering the medications unavailable and unusable; the contents can then be thrown away in the household trash, reducing diversion, exposure and harm. This is the only site-of-use disposal method that uses a government-approved prescription vial with a child-resistant closure to capture the drugs and is eco-friendly when discarded.

As John Holaday, PhD, chairman, founder and CEO of DisposeRx says: “Because the powder and water are added to the prescription vial itself, as the leftover pills dissolve, they become part of the gel solution.” Compared to current suggested disposal guidelines, DisposeRx’s packets are met with the highest level of customer satisfaction. DisposeRx is available with opioid prescriptions free-of-charge at leading pharmacies across the United States.

Dr. Holaday says he and DisposeRx leadership decided to work with the Amendola team because of their deep expertise and contacts in healthcare, as well as their understanding of the societal significance of DisposeRx as an extremely important disposal mechanism. “As a nation, we are all extremely concerned about the after-effects of prescriptions that are left in medicine cabinets and can be diverted, contributing to the opioid epidemic and other societal and public health problems,” Dr. Holaday said. “Our mission is to educate consumers about the need for proper leftover medication management, and Amendola is our strategic weapon in reaching decision-makers and influencers quickly, as well as helping us accelerate our continued growth. With our efforts and Amendola’s support, we can tackle the major issue of eco-friendly, at-home, site-of-use disposal, and shed light on the tragic consequences of drug diversion and the environmental consequences of improperly disposing of leftover medications.”

Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola, said that the agency is focusing on advancing DisposeRx’s important mission to educate stakeholders such as retail pharmacists, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers and healthcare providers about practical, convenient, cost-effective and safe medication disposal. “Increasing the adoption of DisposeRx packets can decrease the potential misuse of leftover drugs, including accidental poisonings, overdoses and death,” she said. “Our public relations and marketing programs will directly address the question, “What do I do with my unused medications to prevent misuse, while also protecting the environment?'”

Amendola is implementing a comprehensive media relations plan that will include aggressive media relations to showcase the results of DisposeRx’s innovation, partnerships and social responsibility and community involvement. A multi-pronged communications approach will include press releases and media engagement; bylined thought leadership articles; and speaking engagements and awards to position DisposeRx as subject matter experts and thought leaders. In addition, Amendola will manage multi-media, interactive marketing activities to fuel DisposeRx’s adoption and lead generation.

About DisposeRx Packets

DisposeRx packets contain a blend of proprietary solidifying materials that provide an at-home, site-of-use solution for the neutralization and eco-friendly disposal of unused medications. When water and DisposeRx powder are added to drugs in a prescription vial and shaken, the drugs are chemically and physically sequestered in a viscous polymer gel. DisposeRx is made of materials that are FDA approved for oral medications. For more information and to order DisposeRx packets, please visit our website at: https://disposerx.com/

About DisposeRx, Inc.

Located in North Carolina, DisposeRx, Inc. is a drug disposal company with a mission to eradicate the misuse of unused medications through innovative at-home, site-of-use technology. The company is spearheading programs to educate consumers and communities about at-home, site-of-use medication disposal solutions to prevent drug addiction and poisonings, overdoses and deaths. DisposeRx’s easy-to-use disposal solution empowers users to secure a healthier home by facilitating the efficient disposal of unwanted medications.

Media Contact:

Tara Stultz
Amendola Communications
440.225.9595
tstultz@acmarketing.com

Amendola Communications Expands Marketing and Communications Team, Appointing Stacy State as Senior Account Director

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 29, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and healthcare IT public relations and marketing agency, announced today that Stacy State has joined the team as a senior account director. State will create and manage integrated marketing and communications programs, develop lead-generation initiatives, provide strategic counsel, and tell clients’ stories to targeted audiences by leveraging media relations and influencer relationships and strategies.

Stacy State

State brings nearly 20 years of marketing and product development experience across several healthcare verticals including providers, payers and health IT platform vendors. Having held marketing leadership roles at healthcare companies such as Humana and ZirMed (now Waystar), she has a proven track record of driving growth through lead generation strategies; developing and executing strategic communications and marketing programs; and leveraging PR and innovative digital strategies to transform brands.

“Amendola has a stellar reputation in the industry, and I’m excited to join an award-winning team of healthcare and health IT experts committed to the success and growth of our clients,” State said.

The agency’s CEO Jodi Amendola said clients will benefit from State’s marketing expertise as well as her ability to advance PR strategies to drive tangible business results for healthcare innovators, ranging from start-ups to mid-size and Fortune 100 companies. “Stacy’s deep knowledge of the healthcare industry ecosystem and extensive experience leading marketing strategies will allow her to bring immediate positive results for our clients,” Amendola said.

Prior to Amendola, State held the role of director of marketing for Advantum Health, a billing services company focused on physician and hospital billing. At Advantum, she served on the executive leadership team, creating a new brand for the company and guiding them through three strategic acquisitions.

Before that, State served as the director of enterprise marketing for ZirMed, a revenue cycle management company. State played an integral role in introducing ZirMed to the hospital and health system market and increasing year-over-year revenue bookings by millions of dollars. At Humana, she led initiatives that included new product development, mergers and acquisitions, clinical program communications, and customer messaging and engagement.

State earned her MBA from Indiana University and her bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Kentucky.

Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes
Amendola Communications
480.664.8412 ext. 15
mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com