Indiana University Health, Eskenazi Health and Community Health Network are urging Indiana residents to get vaccinated and mask up in a new marketing campaign, titled "We can't do this alone," Indianapolis Business Journal reported Dec. 20.
The three hospitals, all located in Indianapolis, rolled out the campaign with a full-page ad in The Indianapolis Star on Dec. 19 with the following message: "The situation is dire. We have more patients in our hospitals than we have beds. We're converting available units into critical care wards, just to make room. And as you know, healthcare workers across the country are exhausted and running out of steam."
The campaign urges state residents to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including a booster shot. It also advises people to get tested if they have symptoms and inform those with whom they have been in contact.
Only about half of Indiana residents have been fully vaccinated; the state is ranked No. 43 in the U.S. for its percentage of people fully vaccinated (51.7 percent), according to the CDC.
The Indiana hospitals' campaign coincides with a similar marketing effort from six Cleveland hospitals and health systems, which also ran Dec. 19. The group, which includes Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, put out an ad defined by a single word: "Help."
The message ran in Ohio's largest newspaper and continued with a plea to residents: "We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before. And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated. This is preventable."