The best of Silver Anvil. (Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil Awards)(Cover Story)

In a two-year period, a community health partnership in Columbus, OH raised immunizations of children under two by 117% in public clinics. Spear-headed by the 11-member Franklin County Hospital Council with its public relations firm Paul Werth Associates, the partnership pooled city, county, state, federal and private resources to raise the percentage of fully vaccinated children.

The outstanding campaign was designated the "Best of Silver Anvil" by the Public Relations Society of America. The program earned a 1995 Silver Anvil Award for excellence in the public service/partnerships category. Over the years, Werth Associates has won a total of nine Silver Anvils.

Prior to the campaign, research by the Columbus Health Dept. and Ohio State University found that 20,000 of the city's two-year-olds were not fully immunized. "It didn't matter whether their parents lived in the central city or a more affluent suburb," stated City Health Commissioner William C. Myers.

Research showed parents failed to have their children immunized because:

(1) Parents did not realize unprotected children were in danger.

(2) Parents did not like to see their children get shots.

On another front, research showed that physicians were not proactively immunizing their young patients. The facts indicated the need for a broad educational campaign aimed at both physicians, parents and parents-to-be. Other target audiences included media, child care service providers, and parenting classes.