Megan McCann

Established and lead a dynamic national media team, strategically driving initiatives to elevate brand recognition and reputation on a national scale.

• Increased national media coverage by more than 50% over two fiscal years with coverage in top tier media outlets including NBC News, ABC News, AARP, Washington Post, New York Times, NPR and more.
• Develop and execute comprehensive media strategy focusing on marquee clinical service lines: cardiovascular, oncology, urology, and geriatrics.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to support critical organizational initiatives, including innovation, quality improvement and international health through a proactive media strategy.
• Prepare and media train physician and executive spokespeople for national media appearances, press conferences and other interview opportunities.
• Managed Northwestern Medicine's media response during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully promoting groundbreaking events like the historic vaccine rollout and the first lung transplants for COVID-19.
• Project-managed the redesign of the Northwestern Medicine Digital Newsroom, emphasizing a digital content strategy aligned with organizational priorities: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), community benefit, and clinical innovation.
• Successfully nominated for and completed Northwestern Medicine Improvement Leader Training, showcasing expertise in project management, problem-solving, and improvement methodologies, including DMAIC, lean thinking, and change management principles.

Achieved impactful media placements in prominent outlets, both locally and nationally, including the Associated Press, New York Times, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, AARP, Today Show, Good Morning America, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, US News & World Report and more.

• Created a comprehensive system crisis response plan in collaboration with internal communications, ensuring a consistent and integrated approach to incidents.
• Successfully led communications response after the evacuation of 90+ patients from a flooded hospital, acting as a media spokesperson, developing executive talking points, and managing stakeholder communications. Executed reputation repair strategies following the incident.
• Planned and executed high-profile special events in partnership with Government Relations, including press conferences, expert round tables, hospital tours and bill signings for mayors, governors, U.S Senators and other VIPs.
• Following mergers, implemented and standardized monitoring, measurement, and reporting for brand, region, and service line media relations.
• Established a robust staff development program encompassing table-top crisis drills, new technology training, team volunteer events, video production workshops, and cross-department shadowing opportunities.
• Led integration efforts during the transition of Media Relations from hospital-based teams to a system function following a merger, including auditing contracts, aligning vendor relationships and developing a corporate media policy.
• Promoted from a hospital role to the system (corporate) leadership team in 2015.

Managed and developed a high-performing team delivering impactful media relations outcomes for Chicago's premier academic medical center.

• Oversaw day-to-day operations of the media relations department, managing reactive media requests, clinical beat coverage, social media management and strategic content development.
• Implemented a successful social media strategy, encompassing community management on social platforms, content development, customer relations and the creation of an analytics and reporting system.
• Managed a high volume of media requests related to VIP/high-interest patients, providing counsel and support to families and/or representatives throughout the process.
• Conducted media training, message development and interview preparation for physicians and executive leadership, enhancing their communication effectiveness.
• Collaborated closely with the director on issues management, incident response and crisis communications ensuring a unified and effective approach to critical situations.

Enhanced brand visibility by strategically pitching stories and effectively securing coverage in key media outlets for nationally ranked clinical programs, including neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and solid organ transplant.

• Secured positive media coverage for the hospital by developing strong relationships with journalists and clinical sources.
• Managed a high volume of media requests for medical experts and patient condition updates, showcasing a strong ability to handle time-sensitive and critical communications through 24/7 on-call rotations.
• Successfully planned and executed special events, notably organizing an award-winning symposium on concussion safety in youth sports, hosted in partnership with the NFL Head, Neck, and Spine Committee.
• Pioneered the launch of Northwestern Memorial's first corporate news blog, serving as the blog editor-in-chief and author. This initiative enhanced the hospital's online presence and social media engagement.
• Contributed to the development and execution of the hospital's strategic social media plan, taking ownership of the hospital's Twitter account and achieving significant growth by more than doubling followers in less than one year.
• Played a key role in talent acquisition by recruiting, supervising, and mentoring Media Relations interns, fostering a culture of learning and development within the department.

Produced engaging feature stories covering diverse topics such as health and wellness, parenting, automotive care, and wedding planning.

• Authored feature articles with widespread reach, earning bylines in prominent Sun-Times News Group publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Pioneer Press newspapers and various Niche Publications magazines.
• Managed multiple writing assignments simultaneously, consistently meeting deadlines without compromising quality.
• Collaborated with editors to refine article content, resulting in improved readability and audience retention.

Provided strategic communications counsel to hospital administrators, specializing in message development, crafting by-lined articles and editorials and composing speeches.

• Successfully secured extensive local and regional media coverage, strategically highlighting clinical programs, philanthropic initiatives and community service programs to enhance the hospital's positive public image.
• Proficiently wrote, edited and designed internal and external newsletters tailoring content for diverse audiences including employees, physicians, patients, elected officials and congregational leaders.
• Oversaw the content management of the hospital's intranet, directing a team of more than two dozen department page editors to ensure seamless information dissemination within the organization.
• Actively engaged in government relations, including lobbying key elected officials, fostering legislative advocacy within the workforce (including nursing) and hosting impactful events such as bi-annual nursing forums for local, state and federal elected officials.
• Curated monthly information mailers to elected officials, effectively showcasing Advocate's community benefit programs and reinforcing the organization's commitment to the community.
• Recruited and supervised department interns and light-duty employees, contributing to the development of emerging talent within the organization.
• Played a key role in emergency preparedness, serving on the hospital's emergency management committee and drafting a comprehensive crisis communication plan for Advocate South Suburban Hospital.
• Engaged as a member of Advocate's original social media task force, pioneering the organization's initial foray into social media platforms.
• Co-chaired the corporate media relations task force, which successfully developed a system-wide crisis communication plan to enhance preparedness and coordination across the organization.

Supported comprehensive communications initiatives through media relations, employee and physician communications, government relations, event planning and content management for the hospital's intranet.

• Curated and distributed a monthly communications packet to local, state and federal elected officials enhancing government relations and fostering proactive communication with key stakeholders.
• Developed a monthly publication dedicated to sharing community benefit information with local congregational leaders, reinforcing the hospital's commitment to community engagement.
• Served as the public relations representative on philanthropy committees, actively contributing to the success of annual employee giving campaigns and fundraising galas.
• Transitioned into the role following a successful internship, demonstrating proficiency in various day-to-day duties, including drafting press releases, newsletter articles, media pitching, photography, media monitoring, and coordination of a ribbon-cutting event to inaugurate a new emergency department.