The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s communications and marketing office won three prizes, including a first place honor and a nomination of the best shows, at 2025 Association of public relations of Tennessee College (TCPRA) Conference.
Held from May 21 to 23 in Chattanooga, the annual event brought together communication professionals for public and private colleges and universities across the State. This year’s competition received 421 record entries in 38 categories of 22 institutions.
The UT Health Science Center communications team won a golden prize and a nomination of the best shows for media relations, a money prize for the writing of features and a bronze prize in the printed report category. These honors recognize the efforts of the communications and marketing office to advance the missions and the vision of the university for a healthier Tennessee by raising awareness of its clinical excellence, medical innovations, the expertise of teachers and its global credibility in academic health care and research.
“Our communication team makes us very proud,” said Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD. “Their successes are important as an independent assertion of quality and impact on the scale of the state of their work, because they are continuously telling powerful stories that illustrate our health vision in good. Prosperous communities. “
The Gold Award in the media campaigns category and the best of the emissions have honored the work of the communications team, led by the specialist in strategic communications Chris Green, to promote revolutionary surgery carried out by surgeons of the UT Health Science Center. THE Jaw in a day The operation – The first in Tennessee and Mid -South – was completed last year at the Methodist university hospital by an interdisciplinary team from the College of Medicine and the College of Dentistry. In a single procedure, facial plastic surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons and surgical head and necks removed an advanced face of a teenage patient and fully rebuilded the jaw using the patient’s leg bone, eliminating the need for multiple surgeries during the months or years.
The communications director of Green and Strategic, Peggy Reisser, has teamed up with the Methodist public relations team Healthcare to coordinate the cover of the jaw in a day operation. Following the month of collaborative planning and execution, more than 100 media reported on the case, reaching a combined audience of more than 21 million. THE Commercial call Ran a story – with interviews and photos of the patient, the mother of the patient and the surgeons – on the first page of his paper and at the top of his website. In addition, Our TennesseeThe Magazine of the Ancients of the UT system, published a story on the case written by Green.
Reisse, who sits on the TCPRA Executive Committee as Vice-President, has received a money prize in the writing category of feature films for its history Defend the health of childrenPosted in the winter 2025 issue of our Tennessee. History details how Terrakel, MD, PHD, temporary president of the Pediatrics department and chief pediatrician of the Children’s Hospital Happiness, has successfully pleaded for a new law of the State demanding that TennoCare covers a rapid sequencing of the whole genome for newborns and children showing signs of rare genetic diseases. As explained by the story of reissue, the law allows faster and more profitable diagnoses, which allows previous treatment that can save lives.
University 2023-24 Annual report won a bronze prize in the printed report category. The content of the report was produced by the communication team to Reisse, Green and former specialist in strategic communications Janay Jeans. Adam Gaines, director of creative services, designed the report and Caleb Jia provided photographs. The annual report highlighted the many ways in which the Faculty, Staff and Students of the UT Health Sciences Center have worked to advance the vision of the University through academics, clinical care, research, community awareness and philanthropy.
The prices were tried by 13 marketing, public relations, communications and media professionals, representing university establishments, public relations agencies, media organizations and health care communication services.
In addition to the award ceremony, the TCPRA conference presented several presentations, including one from Jessi Gold, MD, well-being chief for the UT system and associate professor of psychiatry at the UT Health Science Center. Dr. Gold discussed the importance of recognizing and treating mental health and the well-being of students in higher education communications.