Health systems’ marketing strategies and needs are evolving at an unprecedented rate. There’s the shift to digital over print, AI-driven personalization vs. mass outreach, and patient engagement with a focus on positive experience metrics, just to name a few. These changes have been fueled by consumer demands, competitive pressures, and technology advancements like machine learning and AI.
April 15-17th, 2025, I had the privilege of attending Swaay.Health LIVE for the first time—an experience that left a lasting impression. If you’re a hospital or health system CMO, Director or Marketing Manager, Swaay is an absolute must-attend. Spoiler alert: Swaay.Health 2026 registration is already open, and the discounted price to attend is only $583 until May 15, 2025.
No one is paying me to promote this conference, LOL, in case you’re wondering. I was simply so impressed with the experience that I’d like to share what I and others gained from attending. Every health system marketer with whom I spoke at the event learned about things like effective strategies and approaches they could employ immediately, great tools they can use (and ones to avoid!), plus more.
Key Highlights and Takeaways
Lectures and Panel Discussions: Over the course of just two and half days, there were 17 lectures (with one or more speakers who typically had PPT presentations jammed with great info) and 13 amazing panel discussions! No one person could cover it all, so my advice is to send two or three people to Swaay 2026, if you can swing it. If you’d like to see a list of all of the sessions, check out the 2025 Program, which is still online. Just a few of my favorite health system sessions were:
- Inside AdventHealth’s Marketing Model
- How Hutchinson Regional Medical Center Unlocked Machine Learning’s Predictive Power
- Intermountain Health Discussed Building the Healthcare Workforce of the Future Using AI, etc.
- How Ochsner Health Drove Community Engagement
- Nebraska Medicine Created a Brand to Attract and Retain Top Healthcare Talent
- How Rancho Health Built Confidence and Visibility
- And Jen Rathman, Suzanne Hendery, Claire Pfarr, and Josh Schlaich (follow the links to see their healthcare organizations) were on an amazing panel that discussed How to Thrive Despite Shrinking Healthcare Budgets
“Unconference” Sessions: In addition to those traditional speaker and panel presentations, there were open sessions where attendees got to speak, ask questions and give answers. These “unconference” sessions were a great way for peers to share knowledge informally and without stress. There were several sessions, and the topics included:
- Patient Experience
- Personalization vs. Privacy
- PR Strategy
- Video & Podcasting
- Getting Eyeballs & Clicks
- Tools & Useful Apps
- Content Marketing
Swaay.Health Awards: Swaay also recognized and celebrated healthcare marketing work that can often go unnoticed. Some of the health system award recipients included:
- AdventHealth for its blog that centers on search trends and audience needs, several posts which went viral (preconception checklist, Montessori beds, magnesium)
- Lee Health for its “Ready for the moments that matter” advertising campaign that told the story of the care Lee Health was able to provide to a grandfather and his granddaughter over the course of 18 years
- Phoebe Putney Health System for its PR / event that highlighted the success story of a NICU baby (“Treasure”) born weighing only 1lb 6oz and now is 9lbs 2oz
- The Well by Northwell for its use of social media to deliver great information and inspiring stories in a fun way using awesome (and consistent) graphics
The Best Part of Swaay: Networking with Peers
In a recent LinkedIn post, Lacey Reichwald (one of the many talented people I met at Swaay) said, “It was generous people sharing what works, owning what doesn’t, and asking really good questions. That’s rare. And it made everything feel less like a conference and more like a brain trust.” Lacey, I agree wholeheartedly!
Whether I was in a session, eating lunch, or even standing in a line, I was learning and taking part in meaningful discussions that help us marketers ultimately contribute to advancing patient care. If you’d like to learn more, DM me on LinkedIn or contact me via email.
Many thanks to Colin Hung, Brittany Quemby, and John Lynn at Swaay.Health for bringing this collaborative environment to life! Looking forward to seeing everyone again in Boston next year.
Blog Post Author:
Estelle Tournas
Director of Marketing & Healthcare IT Consultant
With 30+ years of healthcare experience, Estelle began her career as a Clinical Information Systems Manager at a metro-Boston health system, then moved on to consulting and ultimately, marketing. She has implemented and optimized clinical and administrative EHR applications in both the inpatient and ambulatory environments. She has outstanding communication, project management, and presentation skills, and she excels at developing and executing strategic and tactical plans to support organizations’ goals and business objectives.
