Several adjuncts to proposals for funding also may be helpful. Th e fi rst is that
the hospital must seek federal, state, and city recognition for the achievements of
the hospital. Th e positive press will assist in promoting the hospital as a deserving
institution. In addition, the more known the hospital is, the more likely the positive
press to the politician who assists the hospital in securing funding.
Th e hospital must solicit continued press coverage even after the remainder of
the hospitals in the area have stepped down from alert status. As long as the hospital
remains in the press, the impetus to provide aid remains. Once the positive press
stops, the attention span of the public can be very short, as is the attention span
of the press in covering the story. Politicians seem to have the same attention span
issues.
In summary, the proposals for government grants and funding are diffi cult and
resource exhausting. Th e process must not be entered into without planning and
consideration. Th e hospital would do well to consult a lobbyist agency and a grant
writer to assist in the request procedure.