Partnerships Make Perfect: Cleveland Clinic Nursing Teams With Covelli Enterprises for National Nurses Week

For the past year, Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Institute has formed a highly valued partnership with nationally recognized Covelli Enterprises and its Panera Bread restaurant chain. Covelli Enterprises is headquartered in Warren, Ohio, within Cleveland Clinic’s vast Northeast Ohio footprint and is known for its dedication to service and philanthropy.

Early in 2014, as the Nursing Institute was gearing up for National Nurses Week – which is held annually from May 6 through May 12 to celebrate and honor nurses nationwide – members of Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Image and Branding Council suggested partnering with a local business to further showcase the health system’s 12,000 nursing team members within local Cleveland communities.

“Cleveland Clinic’s nurses have a rich history of giving back to their local communities – from volunteerism to board and association memberships, fundraising for local charities, and donating their time to wellness clinics, community health events and more,” says Meredith Lahl, MSN, RN, PCNS-BC, PPCNP-BC, CPON, Senior Director, Advanced Practice Nursing and co-chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Image and Branding Council. “Our nurses’ commitment to helping and giving back to the community when they aren’t on the clock is truly impressive so the idea to publically partner with a local organization to celebrate our nurses during Nurses Week was a perfect fit.”

A community-focused partnership

The council decided to approach Covelli Enterprises and, under the leadership of Covelli’s regional marketing director, Jessica Cavaliere, the partnership began immediately.

“Covelli Enterprises and Panera Bread strongly believe in giving back to the Cleveland community and we couldn’t think of a more dedicated group of individuals more deserving of recognition and appreciation than the nurses at Cleveland Clinic,” Cavaliere says. “They give so much to their patients, co-workers, health system, and our local communities that we wanted to take the opportunity, during National Nurses Week, to thank them for all they do throughout the year.”

As part of Covelli’s effort to give back to the local nurses who provide the support and dedication needed to keep Cleveland-area communities healthy and strong, Cavaliere and her team worked with the Nursing Institute’s marketing team to devise a plan for promotion of Cleveland Clinic’s nurses throughout its Northeast Ohio Panera Bread locations.

Among other perks and benefits, the plan consists of the following:

• From May 1 through May 15, Cleveland Clinic nurses were mailed a Panera Bread postcard that they could bring to any Panera Bread location to receive a $5 gift card for their next visit.
• A ‘Nurses Appreciation Event’ was held in a local Panera Bread community room. Attendees received prizes such as ‘Bread for a Year’ certificates and more.
• Canisters were placed by cash registers at Panera Bread locations from May through July to collect donations for the Nursing Institute.
• A portion (20 percent) of the proceeds for all Panera Bread catering orders throughout the month of May was donated to the Nursing Institute.

“In 2014, Panera Bread received a 21 percent redemption rate on nurses turning in their postcards and as a result we were able to donate approximately $17,500 to Cleveland Clinic for nursing research and education,” says Cavaliere. “The funding was raised both through the catering component of our program, as well as the generous donations made by our loyal customers through the Operation Dough-Nation canisters.”

Cavaliere presented Cleveland Clinic’s Executive Chief Nursing Officer Kelly Hancock with an oversized check for the amount of $17,500 in a very special nursing leadership video segment that was shared with the health system’s entire nursing team.

“Our partnership was so successful last year that we continued it this year and have some great things planned this week as we celebrate National Nurses Week 2015,” Cavaliere adds. “This is a partnership that we expect to be ongoing for many years to come.”

Community partnerships deliver added value to nursing organizations

Beyond participating in the Covelli Enterprises and Panera Bread partnership, the Cleveland Clinic Nursing Institute places great emphasis on community involvement, partnering with a number of local organizations throughout the year. The institute donates food items for Harvest for Hunger, participates in and raises funds for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk and donates annually to the United Way, to name a few.

“As nursing is Cleveland Clinic’s largest caregiver group, our contributions to the health system’s philanthropic efforts are often significant, which is great for our nursing profession as a whole. The involvement of our nursing staff outside the health system not only benefits our communities, our patients and our health system – it elevates the truly amazing role nurses play by showcasing how our nurses positively impact society beyond their daily roles,” Lahl adds.