Orthopaedic Association drives its message into local communities

There seems to be no end of campaigns designed to get American youth moving. Lack of physical activity has led to an obesity crisis among the nation’s children. Among the organizations combatting the situation is the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has won first place in the “Community Outreach Campaign” category of Ragan’s 2018 Health Care PR and Marketing Awards.

The AAOS’s “Communities in Motion: The Event” empowers communities to take ownership of their own bone and joint health through a real-world event piloted at the organization’s 2017 annual meeting in San Diego. In 2018, when the AAOS met again in New Orleans, the group set ambitious goals for its local outreach, including an increase in volunteers and community participation. 

Planning involved efforts to enlist community partners (which wound up including the New Orleans Saints athletic trainers, cheerleaders and mascot, along with running back Trey Edmunds, who made special appearances) and meetings with community organizations to learn about local challenges to bone and joint health. 

The group established an advisory board and worked with it to shape the event, which features exercise-based challenge stations that demonstrate what people can do to prevent injuries; each station was staffed by at least one orthopaedic surgeon and one athletic trainer. Planning efforts also prepared the Saints, Jefferson Parish and other partners to showcase the event on their social media accounts. 

Among other outcomes, when participants were asked to rate the event’s meaningfulness and impact, Communities in Motion: The Event achieved a near-perfect score while surpassing goals for volunteer and participants. When it comes to community outreach, AAOS took the challenge literally, putting boots on the ground and likely changing lives.

Congratulations to AAOS for an award-winning campaign. 

View More Health Care PR And Marketing Awards 2018 Winners.

Visit Ragan.com/Awards to learn more about awards opportunities.