Yasin Yanik is a key figure at the Frankfurt Red Cross clinics . The loving family man is passionate about ensuring that no one in the hospital has to sit in the cold, even in winter. Human resources management helps him to balance family and job – something that is not a given in today’s working world, where people often only think in quarters.

The example of Yasin Yanik makes it clear: At the Frankfurt Red Cross clinics, all employees are given a high level of recognition. Social networks help the facility to communicate this fact to a broad public. Reactions in social networks prove the hospital right. Mohamed Filali wrote on Facebook on June 27, 2014: “I can only recommend these clinics if someone really needs a hospital stay.” And Gisela Schneider, also a Facebook user, says: “I am very happy with the Red Cross Hospital at the Zoo. Both as a patient and as a service provider (patient transport service): you are really in good hands here from the very beginning.”

Social media is still new territory for most German hospitals. As part of my thesis for the Mülheim Chamber of Industry and Commerce in April 2013, in which I examined the presence of hospitals in social networks, I came to the surprising conclusion that none of the Düsseldorf hospitals I examined had an active Facebook, Twitter or YouTube account.

Almost two years later, little seems to have changed in this situation. Just 15.7% of all German hospitals have their own Facebook fan page, less than ten percent use the network actively and the 20 most active hospitals are responsible for over 50% of the posts (as of 2014).

Social media have long been an “integral part of communication”

With the active use of Facebook, YouTube, and Xing, the Red Cross clinics in Frankfurt clearly stand out from the rest of the hospitals: “Since social media has played hardly any role in German hospital communication so far, we had to focus on the most well-known platforms. Communications officers in the hospital do not want to create any space for possible public criticism or even shitstorms due to medical or nursing errors,” believes press spokesman Martin Camphausen.

With 1,335 fans (as of March 19, 2015), the Facebook community is not that big compared to other institutions, especially in international comparison, but it is growing steadily. “Social media is not a fad, but has long been an integral part of modern communication,” Camphausen is convinced.

Even at the Red Cross clinics, the idea of ​​using Facebook and YouTube to reach out to patients and employees was by no means uncontroversial: “The management and the majority of my colleagues were not at all enthusiastic about the business use of social networks at first,” admits Camphausen: Is this appropriate for a hospital, are we big enough for something like this, is it not too casual, do we actually have enough to report, what do we do in the event of a shitstorm, can a staff department handle it in terms of resources? These were the questions that had to be answered when Camphausen began his work as a press spokesperson in February 2014. “I had to do a lot of educational work, but in the end I succeeded.”

Xing and Facebook as networks for recruiting new skilled workers

Social networks have long since taken precedence over advertisements in the FAZ and Frankfurter Rundschau when looking for a job. The most recent advertisement for a nursing position received 60 likes on Facebook within a very short time and was shared 41 times. There is – and this is emphasized with pride – an increasing number of applicants who refer to the job advertisements on Facebook during the interview.

“There were even several applicants in the nursing field who said in the interview that they weren’t actually looking for a job, but had been following us on Facebook for some time and had only applied because of our good appearance. The tenor was always: They want to work in a company that puts its employees in such a positive light,” says Camphausen.

Whether it’s publishing job offers on Facebook or appearing on YouTube, the Frankfurt Red Cross Clinics are all about presenting a hospital as a whole, by reporting on everyday medical life on the one hand, but also focusing on everyday things and stories on the other – always with the invitation to take part in what’s happening.

While other clinics still largely rely on longer-lasting press releases and communicate in a predominantly one-dimensional manner, the Red Cross clinics have consciously chosen a different path and are ultimately rewarded for it: not only on Facebook, where all commentators give them full marks, but also on Kununu (4.54 out of five points) and the clinic portal Jameda (overall score 1.2).

Other clinics will also have to follow suit

Martin Camphausen is certain that soon no one will be able to avoid social media in the German healthcare system – at the latest when younger generations take over. German hospital management will also have to accept this: so far, the majority of hospitals have shied away from Facebook & Co. There are a number of topics that hospitals could use as a starting point for discussions on social networks, such as the federal government’s quality initiative or the new hospital and nursing legislation. However the professionalization of nursing and the associated introduction of nursing chambers in some federal states are also points that could be included in a discussion.