The Champions for Children podcast is now the Well Beyond Medicine podcast. Learn the whys, hows, and wherefores in this episode, featuring Nemours Children’s associates Drew Landmeier, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer; Che Parker, Communications Program Manager; and Cheryl Munn, Enterprise Communications Director.
Explore NemoursWellBeyond.org to access current episodes of Well Beyond Medicine and previous episodes of Champions for Children, subscribe to, share, and review the podcast, and use the voicemail function to share your episode ideas.
Carol Vassar, producer
Guests:
Drew Landmeier, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Nemours Children’s Health
Cheryl Munn, Director, Enterprise Communications, Nemours Children’s Health
Che Parker, Communications Program Manager, Nemours Children’s Health
Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.
Episode Transcript
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Welcome to Well Beyond Medicine, the Nemours Children’s Health Podcast. Each week we’ll explore anything and everything related to the 80% of child health impacts that occur outside the doctor’s office. I’m your host, Carol Vassar, and now that you are here, let’s go.
Let’s go, oh, oh, well beyond medicine!
Joining me now from PAS, the meeting of PAS the Pediatric Academic Societies in Washington, DC, we are onsite with three Nemours colleagues. Drew Landmeier, who is the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Nemours. Che Parker is the communications program manager, and Cheryl Munn is the Director of Enterprise Communications. And we are here to make a big announcement about the podcast, the very podcast that you are listening to right now. So Drew, I’m gonna turn to you, the big boss at the table here. Yes. What is the big announcement related to the podcast?
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: Well, first and foremost, Hi, Carol. It’s such a pleasure to meet you. It’s the first time that we’ve met, but like you said, it’s big news today. Today is the first day that we’ll be launching Well Beyond Medicine Podcast, and this will really increase our visibility nationally as an organization to reach a wider audience.
The podcast will provide a true platform to showcase our organization’s values, expertise, and, true commitment to improving children’s health and wellbeing. So with that, I’m excited to begin the conversation and to dig in and talk more about what we’re gonna be offering.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Well, before we get to that, I’m gonna turn to Cheryl, and I want to hear a little of the history. We’ve done 191 episodes of what was called Champions for Children. It started about three and a half years ago, but you are here to tell us a little more of that history. So, Cheryl, go for it.
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: Well, it started. This really was the brainchild of our Chief Human Relations Officer, Peter Adebi. He came to me back in 2019 and said, “Oh, we’re doing a podcast,” and I said, “What?” (laughter). And his team and you and I’ve been involved off and on, have produced, as you said, 191 really terrific episodes highlighting our associate stories. It started at the time to bring us together and to tell those stories because a podcast is a great forum to be a little more intimate and to get into more details than some of our other platforms.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And it was also an opportunity to provide our associates with messaging during the pandemic. There was a whole period of time, I think, from December of 2020 until March of 2021 when we were focused on messaging for the pandemic.
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: Is, is that right? Yes. And that was a great way to. Bring us together because, you know, we had a lot of people who had to leave the office to work from home, and everybody felt a little disconnected. So the podcast was a really good connector at the time, and it also provided a sense of belonging and also really important information because things were changing daily, weekly. If you look at the downloads from that period, that was really a lot of associate engagement during that time too.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: And if I could add, I’ve only been with the organization Carol for about nine months now.
Mm-hmm. So coming into an organization that has a very storied past and has a great reputation nationally, I was offered to listen to the podcast through my interview process. And it truly opened my eyes to where this organization was going to understand the culture and the connectivity to parents and children. You know, those who we’re caring for in the communities. So for me, it was definitely an opportunity to look behind the curtain in Nemours and really see what they were about. And when I joined the organization and I found out that, oh my God, it is the number seven ranked podcast in the nation for children’s healthcare information. And I thought, we have to harness this because it is the best kept secret.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: It’s also a great recruitment tool because it brought you to us.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: Absolutely. Absolutely. For that. Absolutely.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And thank you for listening. Drew, talk about some of the vision, the strategy. You say you’ve only been here nine months, but I know you have a very good vision and strategy moving forward. Talk about the strategy behind the rebrand. Who are we trying to reach with this? Who would we like to get to hear our stories beyond the associate base who are already our listeners?
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: Well, I hope I’m gonna be able to unpack all that, Carol, but (laughter)… But really, we’re gonna be focusing on communicating our expertise and how we can influence public policy and really promote best practices for children’s health and wellbeing. That could be a variety of people, including healthcare, education, policy providers. You know, we’re gonna invite people in with diverse perspectives. It’s gonna be individuals who may agree with us as an organization or may have a differing opinion. And that’s okay because ultimately, we have to communicate; we have to connect with each other and understand the different struggles and perspectives that each of us can bring to bear and create positive solutions for the country and create the next generation of healthiest children.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And it’s great to hear that we’re going to bring in not just our point of view but other points of view as well.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: Correct. That’s, that’s very important. I was very adamant that we were able to bring in those differing opinions and different voices because, you know, we are a national provider. We are a multi-state, multi-site system, and you know, we have to represent various different communities. And our partners are far and wide, and have different perspectives that it can bring to the table as well.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And the podcast is not just the strategy you work on no’s, it’s part of a larger strategy. Mm-hmm. Where does this fit into the larger marketing and communication strategy?
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: No, it, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a good ask. And ultimately, well beyond medicine was where we landed with calling the podcast. Many individuals within the organization have called it our tagline, and I disagree. I think it’s truly part of the DNA of the organization. My experience coming to the organization and only being with the organization now nine months, I have found that people really have taken that to heart, and everybody defines it in a unique and different way. And I think that’s the perfect name for the podcast because we all have different perspectives. We all have a different background and life experiences. And you know, how we provide support, especially in the clinical space, to children throughout the organization, throughout the country, is very important. So I think it’s really bringing to life what well beyond medicine means.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: I’m gonna throw out a question here. Why a podcast? What’s in the audio space that is attractive to Nemours that we are going to such great lengths and great effort to produce a podcast. Cheryl, I’m gonna turn to you.
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: I think the podcast gives us the opportunity to hear the voices in their own words of our associates and their stories. And when you have a little more time, like the podcast gives us, you can really hear the passion that our people bring to this work. We really have some of the most committed, amazing associates.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Drew.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: I was just gonna say, I think the podcast is really gonna highlight areas that align with our strategic priorities, such as mental health, population health, health, and equity are very big topics in our nation right now.
And, how we can bring together both our associates, our clinicians, our thought leader experts, as well as our partners and alliances around the country, I think it’s gonna be a wonderful platform. It’s a platform that’s gonna be unique and different and will further our national brand and reputation throughout the country.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Che, I am gonna turn to you. We started talking about this possible rebrand, you and I as far back as last summer. So what are people going to hear who are regular listeners that might be different or new to their ears?
Che Parker, Nemours Children’s Health: There are some pressing issues that families are facing today, and some of those things we’ll be talking about going forward are things like mental health, right? There’s a crisis happening right now with youth mental health. Things like food insecurity and housing issues, and transportation. These are things that happen outside of hospital walls. Again, that’s really well beyond medicine that we’ll be hoping to address. We’ll be bringing external experts in policy and research, and innovation. You know, we have the opportunity to not only convene these conversations but to lead these conversations. So I know we’re really excited about playing that role in these discussions.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And that’s one of the reasons we’re here in Washington right now. Where the policymakers are, where the lawmakers are, where the leaders in pediatric health care. We’re launching this podcast here for a reason. Talk about that.
Che Parker, Nemours Children’s Health: Yeah. I mean, we’re in the nation’s capital. This is where all the decisions are made, and so if we can have a platform and have a voice here, this is where we need to be.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Drew.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: I’d also like to add that we’re here in Washington, DC because we’re attending the PAS conference, which is the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference, which is held annually. It’s a perfect opportunity to bring various different clinical thought leaders together to talk about the many different , challenging issues that are facing parents and patients nationally. But I’d also like to highlight another significant reason is because we have our national office that is based here in Washington DC, and we are the only children’s health system that has that representation in our nation’s capital. So, from being a national brand and having a national voice, this is the perfect location to kick off while Beyond Medicine Podcast.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And again, this is a great place to bring those leaders in to talk about what they need to talk about, want to talk about, and to open up those discussions with thought leaders, with clinicians, and with policymakers. Absolutely. So people are gonna be hearing those. Episodes that we record here over the next several days, over the next several months. So there’s a lot to look forward to there.
Che, I want to talk about the interactive component. This is a really exciting, as a broadcaster, as a podcaster, this is an exciting component of the new podcast to me. Can you talk about what we’re adding in here?
Che Parker, Nemours Children’s Health: We’ve added quite a few features to really make the website an experience. Really interactive, and engaging. For example, feedback forms. What do you think about the episodes? Do you have ideas? Is there something we’re missing in this conversation? Leave us a voicemail, give us some ideas. You know, are there things that are impacting kids and families that we should be talking about? Right? And also, you know, share it. Share it on your social media sites, Twitter, LinkedIn, via email. Send it to your friends. You know, let’s get some engagement up. And then also leave us a review. What do you think about it? I know we all want five-star reviews, and so we’re keenly interested in that. So just really increasing the engagement activity on the site. We’re excited about it.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And also there’s the voicemail component where people can leave a voicemail. You may hear your voice as part of the podcast moving forward.
Cheryl, I wanna talk about having been number seven in the nation as a pediatric podcast. Previously we did this almost all organically. Talk about that.
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: We did this all organically, and it’s really amazing to me that people who tell me about the podcast love it. We have raving fans, which is amazing, and the growth to number seven has been completely organic. But now, we really wanna make sure that we are letting other people know about the podcast, getting the word out, promoting it on social media, promoting it more with other leaders and other organizations, and cross-promoting. When we have members from different organizations, we want them to share, but we especially want our associates to be part of the podcast because, really, those stories and their passion is the reason we’re here.
You know, one of the challenges, too is our associates; they’re very humble. They don’t always know that they really do have a great story. So we’re encouraging you to share, or if you know of another associate with a great story, let us know and, and we’ll make the contact.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: And I think also we have a lot of associates that are really engaged with the community in different organizations. And as I mentioned earlier, it’s critical that we bring other organizations’ voices and storytelling into the mix, as well. So I highly encourage our associates to bring in their relationships and the organizations they support as well.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And Champions for Children, which is the previous iteration of this podcast, 191 episodes. They’re not going into the ether, are they, Cheryl?
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: No. That would be a great loss because they really are a treasure, and they’re great content. They also talk about moments in time at Nemours, which I love. Like the pandemic, which we’d probably like to forget, but there are some elements of it. We really came together. There were some really good things.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: There’s White Coats for Black Lives, which was during the pandemic period. That was, yes, that’s a moment in time.
Cheryl Munn, Nemours Children’s Health: Mm-hmm. It really is our history, so we would not get rid of that. And you can listen to every single episode going all the way back to the first episode that you did with Dr. Moss, talking about introducing Champions for Children.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: And again, where can we find the new Well Beyond Medicine podcast? Che.
Che Parker, Nemours Children’s Health: Yes, it’s Nemours well beyond.org.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Drew.
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: Alternatively, if you’re like me, I am very lazy, so I like to ask my devices like Alexa or Siri to play the Well Beyond Medicine Podcast, and it will automatically play for you. So I think that’s very important, especially if you’re commuting. It’s a great opportunity to stay connected to Nemours and our mission.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Anything I haven’t talked about that you would like to share about this new podcast? About PAS, about strategy moving forward around the podcast, around marketing? Drew?
Drew Landmeier, Nemours Children’s Health: I think to sum it up, I mean, we are truly bringing this all together. When I came to the organization, there were so many amazing pieces and parts of the organization that truly had a national impact. So, amplifying the podcast in this way and giving it this platform, and I will have to say I just love the opening and closing theme music. I am tapping my foot and singing along with it. I’m ready to go, go, go. But again, we’re also gonna be bringing in kidshealth.org, which is another huge asset to the organization on the national stage. So there are so many pieces and parts, and this is just one element in terms of how we’re gonna be transforming as an organization into a true national leader.
Che Parker, Nemours Children’s Health: Really excited about it.
Carol Vassar, podcast host/producer: Let’s go!
MUSIC: Well beyond medicine!
Thanks for listening to the Well Beyond Medicine Podcast with me, Carol Vassar, and our guests, Drew Landmeier, Cheryl Munn, and Che Parker. Looking for a previous podcast episode, be it Champions for Children or Well Beyond Medicine? Every episode is available on our brand new website: nemourswellbeyond.org. That’s nemourswellbeyond.org. There you can also leave your feedback on the podcast in writing or by voicemail, read our reviews, provide your own review, subscribe to the podcast, and sign up for our brand-new podcast newsletter.
Thanks to Che Parker, Cheryl Munn, Rachel Salis Silverman, and Susan Masucci for their production support this week. Next week, since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we’ll air our interview recorded at PAS with Dr. Erica Sood and her colleagues from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about a new national effort of the American Board of Pediatrics to support the emotional health of pediatric patients with chronic conditions and their families.
Until then, remember, together, we can change children’s health for good, well beyond medicine.
MUSIC: Let’s go, oh, oh…well beyond medicine!
