Nicole Sweeney Etter

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin feature story

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Client: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Project: Feature story

In the cardiac community, it’s well known that Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin played a pivotal role in transforming survival rates for kids with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, one of the most severe heart defects. But the hospital had never captured and shared the full, behind-the-scenes story of its pioneering cardiac research for a lay audience, and the hospital’s leadership wanted a narrative feature to commemorate this important part of its history. The story was shared online and distributed as a booklet at an event that celebrated the Herma Heart Institute’s new name and the conclusion of a successful fundraising campaign. As the mom of a child with heart defects, I found this project especially meaningful, and it was a true gift to be able to tell this important story. See the PDF.

Alverno College viewbook

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Client: Alverno College Admissions

Project: Undergraduate viewbook

Alverno was looking for a fresh perspective on its viewbook, which previously had a more institutional tone that didn’t reflect the warm, friendly vibe of its campus. I rewrote the copy to make it snappier and more inspiring, with lots of small copy blocks and bolded phrases to pull in teens and parents with short attention spans. See the PDF.

Alverno College program sell sheets

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Client: Alverno College Admissions

Project: Two-sided fact sheets about each of the majors

As a former reporter, I can get interested in almost any subject, and I especially love learning about people’s work and passions. So I’ve had a lot of fun spending the past year interviewing Alverno faculty and alumnae from a variety of disciplines, ranging from business to chemistry to art therapy, for a series of fact sheets aimed at prospective students. Read a sample.

Medical College of Wisconsin web series

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Client: The Medical College of Wisconsin

Project: Series of articles for MCW’s Medium website

I reported and wrote several long-form features that illustrate the Medical College’s impact on the community. One of my favorite stories was about how the college is working to improve access to mental health services. I was shocked to learn that the majority of counties in Wisconsin and more than half of counties nationwide have no practicing child psychiatrist, leading to wait times of 6-12 months or even more. Fortunately, MCW faculty have found creative ways to get kids the help they need. Read the story.

Medical College of Wisconsin annual report

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MCW annual report coverClient: The Medical College of Wisconsin

Project: 2015 annual report

The challenge: Report and write seven stories — requiring interviews with nearly 20 extremely busy doctors and medical students — in a little more than two weeks. Despite the tighter-than-usual timeline, I got it done (I did begin my career as a daily newspaper reporter, after all), and the client was thrilled with the result. See the PDF.

How to prep for post-op success

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UWHealthPrehabClient: Our UW Health e-newsletter/University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics

Project: Web story, July ’15

Everyone’s heard of rehab, but how much do you know about “prehab”? It turns out that a prehabilitation routine can be critical to speeding up your recovery after surgery. For this story for UW Health’s e-newsletter and website, I got some great tips from UW Health’s experts and a patient. Read the story online.

Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation

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LCMEnvision15CoverClient: Envision/Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation in Chicago

Project: Feature stories, July ’15

A Chicago design firm, Design360, asked me to help produce the content for this donor publication. I wrote the planned giving article, which tells the stories of donors who have included the hospital’s foundation in their estate plans, as well as the article about the Beverly Breast Cancer Walk and accompanying sidebar. See the PDF.

Alumni award profiles

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Forward-Under-40Client: University of Wisconsin-Madison/Wisconsin Alumni Association

Project: Profiles of the 2015 “Forward under 40” award winners

There’s nothing like an alumni awards project to make me feel woefully unaccomplished by comparison! Seriously, though, it’s a treat to write about a university’s most successful and inspiring alumni, and I loved learning the stories behind this year’s “Forward under 40” honorees. I wrote all eight profiles for the Wisconsin Alumni Association website, including this one.

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