OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwired - May 09, 2013) - Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care is pulling out all of the stops to help raise awareness about stroke and stroke prevention during National Stroke Awareness Month. Using an integrated strategy, Advocate is not only relying on marketing but is tapping into social media and building a strong brand journalism platform to engage patients and the communities it serves.

"We want to make our footprint when it comes to building healthy communities across Chicagoland and beyond," said Advocate's director of public affairs, Stephanie Johnson. "This is about meeting patients where they're having discussions and getting information and that happens to be online."

On May 16 at 11:30 a.m., Advocate will host a live chat with Interventional Neuroradiologist, Thomas Grobelny, MD, about stroke and brain aneurysm. The program will stream live on Advocate's web and Facebook pages and give viewers a chance to ask any questions they want in real-time.

Last month's edition of AdvocateLive garnered nearly 74,000 views and nearly 100 questions for guest nutritionist, Jaclyn Sprague.

Stroke is also the theme this month on Advocate's new health website, health enews, which launched in March and already has nearly 35,000 subscribers to its daily newsfeed.

Health enews keeps readers plugged into daily breaking health news and also has plenty of useful health tips and features. Reporters can also use the site to get story ideas and make connections with Advocate's experts.

Already, national news outlets including CNN and Chicago Tribune have covered stories based on articles featured on the website.

Stroke is the topic of conversation among Advocate's nearly 18,000 Facebook fans and 1,200 Twitter followers as well this month. Advocate hopes this full-throttle approach will continue to engage patients and the communities it serves and make a huge impact on helping people adopt healthier lifestyle habits.

You can check out the full story behind Advocate's health enews websitehere.

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Advocate Health Care Boosting Stroke Awareness Through Social Media and Brand Journalism