Sue Lindstrom, director of marketing and communications for Children and Women Services at MUSC Children’s Health, said that marketing was never actually a career that she saw herself doing.
Her background happens to be in speech pathology. “I worked for many years as a speech pathologist in St. Louis and Atlanta,” she said. “But, I have always worked with children.”
She admitted that she wouldn’t change her unique career path for the world.
When her supervisor at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta needed a marketing professional to help market their role in trauma care and other clinical services, Lindstrom jumped at the chance.
“It is always difficult to try to market to parents whose child has experienced a trauma or illness — and even harder for those who have not,” she said. “But I truly believe that children should go to a children’s hospital.”
She now works with individuals from all “sides of the fence” from provider, to parent and patient, securing input and working with everyone on how best to communicate to the different audiences.
With the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital being built, she said it is simply “awe-inspiring.”
“I wasn’t looking for a new job when I got the call to consider coming to Charleston and working with the MUSC Children’s Health leadership team,” she admitted. “But, when I came here and met with all the outstanding people involved in the new hospital, I knew I had to be a part of it.”
And when she saw that first bit of steel go up in 2016 after the ground breaking, Lindstrom said it was a “sign” to her. “I knew it was going to be a great project and that I had made the right decision to move here and help make this hospital become a reality.”
She continued, “There will be smart technology that is like nowhere else. We will be utilizing some of the most advanced systems in the United States. There will be an increase of 20 percent in licensed beds in the new hospital, so we will be able to see more patients. The indoor and outdoor play areas are going to be outstanding. And also having that air transport in critical situations go straight to this new hospital will be nothing short of amazing.”
With all the excitement of the new hospital, she said that none of it would be a reality without the help of their many donors.
Her daily dose of humility comes from being around the children at MUSC’s children hospital and listening to parents tell their stories. “I may come across as a strong person, but hearing a mom tell you about her sick child and their experience at MUSC Children’s Health — there is nothing more touching,” she said.
The new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital will create a better experience for the children and families that are there.
“I think about it every day,” she said. “I just want these kids to have the best care that they can possibly receive in a state-ofthe- art children’s hospital, and I think, well actually, I know, that is what they will have here.”
By Theresa Stratford
