ChristianaCare Earns IABC Gold Quill Award for Innovation in Media Relations

ChristianaCare, with its collaborative partner ExpertFile, has been recognized with a 2023 Gold Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for its “Our Experts” media database.

Designed to easily and quickly connect journalists to subject-matter experts, this online resource has been recognized with the top prize — “Award of Excellence” in the Communications Management, Media Relations category.

“Good communication is foundational to our mission as expert, caring partners in the health of our neighbors,” said Karen Browne, vice president of marketing and communications at ChristianaCare. “Through the development of our online database as a resource for journalists, we are making our experts more accessible to provide timely, accurate health information to the communities we serve.”

The IABC Gold Quill Awards showcase business communication excellence and are acknowledged as among the most prestigious awards programs in the communications industry. Each entry is scored independently by evaluators who judge the award submission on criteria that include: stakeholder analysis, strategic and tactical planning, quality of execution and measurable results.

“It’s impressive to see how ChristianaCare has reimagined how it can more proactively serve the community by being more approachable to journalists,” said Peter Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of ExpertFile. “We’re excited to share this prestigious industry award.”

ChristianaCare’s innovation was driven out of a desire to improve the reach, impact and efficiency of its media relations efforts — amid rapidly increasing demand — without the need to add more resources. In just two years, ChristianaCare’s “Our Experts” media database  received more than 20,000 online visits and has helped to generate more than 200 news stories.

“As a nonprofit health care organization, ChristianaCare makes it a priority to ensure we’re using our resources wisely and effectively,” said Shane Hoffman, communications director. “By using technology to streamline processes and make it easier to connect our experts to the media and community organizations who need their expertise, we’re working smarter—not harder—in service of our mission.”

Powered by the ExpertFile software platform, the ChristianaCare “Our Experts” site provides a digital media toolkit with advanced search and digital content to help journalists discover experts and access resources that make it easier for them to complete stories and meet their deadlines. Through this database, which was developed by Senior Communications Manager Hiran Ratnayake and Senior Digital Content Editor Tom Hendrich, journalists can find experts on a wide range of topics including behavioral health, nutrition, primary care, telemedicine and women’s health. Nearly 140 ChristianaCare experts are featured in the database today, and that figure continues to grow.

“The ‘Our Experts’ media database exemplifies our commitments to seek new knowledge, use our resources wisely and effectively, and continuously look for ways to innovate,” Hiran Ratnayake said. “It has become a world-class resource that has helped journalists both internationally and in our local communities gain quick access to accurate, timely and trusted information to help the public make safe, healthy decisions. We are honored that ‘Our Experts’ has been recognized with the esteemed IABC Gold Quill Award.”

“It’s an honor to partner with my ChristianaCare colleagues and with ExpertFile on this media engagement program,” said Thomas Hendrich. “Through the integration of communications and search engine optimization, we have turbocharged what we can do to help journalists reach their audiences.”

In addition to ExpertFile, ChristianaCare also partnered with the digital agency Brandwidth to develop the website integration.

“Our ExpertFile partnership has elevated the everyday tasks of providing experts for the media into cutting-edge digital tools that create an easy-to-use system that enhances our reputation and brand recognition,” said Scott Mash, digital and creative services director at ChristianaCare. “The teamwork between the Digital & Creative Services and Communications teams and our partners at ExpertFile and Brandwidth were essential to making this work.”