SOURCE: StayWell Custom Communications
CHATHAM, NJ–(Marketwire – December 2, 2010) – Today, MediMedia announced the consolidation of two of its largest divisions: Krames Patient Education and StayWell Custom Communications. Industry-leaders in their respective fields, the two organizations will join forces to create a combined company that will be the largest provider of interactive and print patient education solutions and consumer health information in the country. The Krames StayWell team will have an unmatched market presence including nearly 80 sales and account executives, more than 80 product developers and designers, nearly 45 interactive solution developers and technology specialists, and 25 dedicated client services professionals. The two companies will combine into one organization effective January 1, 2011, to be called Krames StayWell.
“There is really only one reason we are taking this action, and it is a powerful one,” said MediMedia CEO Steve Simcox. “We believe that by consolidating our extensive technology and content assets, product development expertise, and client services resources, we can drive greater value for our clients.”
The consolidation is designed to build on the combined strengths of both organizations, allowing Krames StayWell to more easily offer seamless access to a wider breadth of products, consultative professional expertise, technology, and content assets. “There is no question that we can serve client needs better together than separately,” said Patrick Clifford, StayWell Company Chairman.
“Our goal is to make it even easier for our clients to do business with us,” said George Parker, President and CEO of Krames, who will serve as CEO of Krames StayWell. “We will be able to provide enterprise-wide and market-specific solutions designed to drive consumer engagement, improve health outcomes, and lower healthcare costs with unmatched ability to integrate print and interactive solutions. Krames StayWell is uniquely positioned to deliver ROI to our clients across all healthcare markets.”
The executive leadership teams of Krames and StayWell Custom Communications will remain intact, and will combine in new roles. “This is a team that has worked together for an extensive period of time, knows each other well, and thrives on the spirit of collaboration and innovation offered by this consolidation,” said Trent Sterling, President and CEO of StayWell Custom Communications, who will serve as President for the new organization. The company will have more than 330 employees located throughout the country.
Krames StayWell will represent best-in-class health communication solutions across the entire spectrum of consumer engagement. Products from the combined organizations are used by more than 85% of American hospitals, as well as leading health plans, employers, pharmaceutical companies, retail organizations, and thousands of healthcare professionals in multiple care settings.
Krames Patient Education has a long history of creating exceptional patient education solutions, in print and interactive formats, rooted in patient-centric content created in consideration of health literacy design principles. Krames flagship products designed to initiate positive patient health self-management at the point of care include:
- Krames On-Demand™ — an electronic, print on-demand system featuring more than 5,300 single topic HealthSheet™ articles covering 38 medical specialty areas and spanning 12 languages.
- Krames Exit-Writer™ — an electronic emergency department discharge instruction program featuring more than 1,400 discharge instruction covering the most common diagnoses addressed in the ER/Urgent care environment plus a prescription writer and medication reconciliation tool.
- Krames Video Solutions™ — A suite of tools enabling delivery of more than 430 Patient Education videos spanning nine languages via websites, point of care tools, kiosks, CCTV systems and DVDs.
- Krames Patient Consent™ — An electronic system designed to standardize and streamline the informed consent process. Via the creation of personalized, procedure specific legal forms and companion patient education written in plain language, Krames Patient Consent™ ensures better patient-provider communication improving outcomes while mitigating legal risk.
- Krames Go-to-Guides™ — A suite of interactive, multimedia disease management workbooks featuring narrated text, embedded video, and quizzes for learning verification designed to match the learning preferences of almost any patient.
- Krames Print Materials™ — An award-winning library of more than 1,300 booklets, brochures, tear sheets, and other formats featuring Krames signature art-text synergy.
StayWell Custom Communications has a legacy of creating print and interactive health information and health management communications designed to help healthcare organizations engage and motivate consumers, and deliver measurable ROI. The company will contribute a wide range of award-winning solutions to the new organization, ranging across digital, mobile, print, SEO and professional services:
- Digital — interactive health libraries and health portals offer more than 30,000 interactive content assets, and include the widely used StayWell Solutions Online™ and StayWell Engage™; microsites, video, email, animations, podcasts and symptom checkers;
- Mobile — text messaging programs, mobile sites, symptom checker for the iPhone, event promotion, contact center solutions and custom applications;
- Custom Print Solutions — more than 100 million copies each year of award-winning publications and other print communications for community, member, disease management and client-selected audiences;
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — local search, keyword optimization and conversion optimization; and
- Professional Services — content integration consultation, Return-on-Investment (ROI) measurement, media integration strategy, and consultative strategy support for creating comprehensive multi-media communications solutions that engage consumers and deliver results.
Both organizations have been committed to helping their clients achieve better health outcomes for consumers for decades. Now united, Krames StayWell is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive, multimedia health information and communication solutions across multiple consumer touch points — delivering the engaging healthcare information patients and consumers want, when they want it and how they want it, and with a focus on generating measurable results for their clients.
About Krames
Krames (a MediMedia Company) is the market leader in patient education and consumer health information solutions. More than 85 percent of American hospitals, as well as leading health plans, employer groups, private practices and pharmaceutical companies use Krames’ solutions to improve quality of care, streamline workflow and lower healthcare costs. Krames also brings health literacy expertise to American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association and American Lung Association patient education through exclusive partnerships with these respected organizations. Founded in 1974, Krames remains at the leading edge of patient education with innovative programs that utilize a comprehensive suite of print, electronic and video content.
For more information, please visit www.krames.com
About StayWell Custom Communications
StayWell Custom Communications (a MediMedia Company) is the leader in custom health content solutions delivered via a variety of sophisticated technology platforms. Our interactive offerings include robust web platforms, online health libraries, e-mail and mobile marketing programs, an extensive range of multimedia tools including video, podcasts and animations, and health management tools and programs. StayWell Custom Communications also offers a comprehensive range of print and print/interactive integrated solutions to meet a broad range of clients’ marketing and communication needs. The company serves hundreds of clients representing several channels in the healthcare industry: hospitals and health systems; health plans; employers; and retail organizations.
For more information, please visit www.staywellcustom.com
About MediMedia
Headquartered in Yardley, PA, with 1,700 employees in offices throughout the U.S., MediMedia changes consumer and professional behaviors through superior engagement, education and end-user preferences. Our health information services group creates, publishes, distributes, and syndicates on and off-line health information to help consumers make informed health decisions on behalf of a variety of sponsors, including providers — both hospitals and physicians, payers, and online media companies. Our health management services group provides population health management services which help consumers lower their health risk, enabling employers to lower their risks, utilization and ultimately their health care expenses. And finally, our professional segment derives its revenues from providing online/off-line professional promotion, engagement, and education services targeted to healthcare professionals and their patients
MediMedia is a Vestar Capital Partners portfolio company.
For more information contact:
Renee Verrastro
973-378-5133
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