ABOUT
I’m a Chicago-area medical and healthcare writer who has spent more than three decades helping hospitals and other healthcare organizations tell accurate, human-centered stories — shaped by my journalism background and my own experience as a patient.
MY STORY
I’m Laura Hegwer (formerly Laura Ramos), and I’ve been writing about healthcare for more than 30 years. After graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, I became editor of a magazine for the pharmaceutical industry. Four years later, I joined the marketing communications staff at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where I developed content for physicians, donors, and patients.
In 1998, I launched Vital Communications to provide expert copywriting and content marketing support for academic medical centers, HIT developers, agencies, associations, think tanks, market research firms, and pharma and device companies. Many of my clients have been with me from the beginning.
I’m passionate about helping healthcare organizations engage their audiences with compelling storytelling that reflects real-world issues. As a journalist, I learned that the best stories stem from effective interviewing, guided by research-driven questions and authentic curiosity. Each day, I value the knowledge I gain from sources, whether it’s Malcolm Gladwell, an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon, a healthcare finance executive, or a cancer survivor.
Effective healthcare content should empower patients, not only to take the next step on their care journey but also to feel more in control. As a longtime orthopedic patient, I understand the isolation and frustration that patients and families experience when they cannot easily find answers. That’s why I shared my own story about having a hip replacement at 49.
Even when content is not intended for a patient audience, I consider how the information will help physicians, executives, and policymakers improve health equity and outcomes.
At this phase in my career, I also prioritize clients who are committed to making healthcare more accessible and equitable for patients. That’s why I discount my services to nonprofit organizations.
A native of Cleveland, I was raised in a medical family (my mother was a nurse, and my father was a general surgeon who emigrated from the Philippines). I chose to stay in the Chicago suburbs after graduating from Northwestern. For more than a decade, I’ve lived in Lake Bluff, Ill., with my husband (whom I met in 8th grade Ohio History) and a corgi. When I’m not writing or editing, I’m often scrutinizing blueprints for a midcentury home renovation, taking a drawing class, or seeing a favorite band in the city.
