When (secular) Abington Memorial Hospital proposed to merge with Holy Redeemer Hospital, I collaborated with community activists to oppose the action, which threatened women’s healthcare in the region.

 

While others coalesced the community through Facebook, I used Twitter to draw the attention of the media and potential political allies.

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I built powerful relationships with state and national organizations, which shared our concerns about the merger, including the ACLU and the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). We drew national attention to our local situation through these allies and their robust networks. Each of their Retweets and messages of support intensified the spotlight on the merger.

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Concurrently, we built a following among regional, state and national media, which amplified our power, message and reach.

 

Locally, I magnified the voice of opposition to the merger by serving as a trusted resource for my network of media professionals, most of whom are social media Friends and Followers. By using my own social media feeds to deliver updates, I became a de facto spokesperson for the opposition.

 

In a matter of weeks, this merger became the national symbol of an unpopular healthcare trend, drawing attention Abington’s leadership clearly didn't welcome.

 

When the merger failed, many, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, credited our social media campaign.

 

The final irony? We'd built such strong alliances that news of the merger's failure was leaked to us and we were able to "break" it first  . . .  on Twitter, of course.