“Ability proceeds from a fusion of skills, knowledge, understanding and imagination, consolidated by experience.
MICHAEL KLARKE
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
These guidelines do not apply to advertising copy, which has a unique style. The Associated Press Stylebook 2018 and Briefing on Media Lawis our primary reference for word usage. For additional guidance, contact Marketing and Communications at (818) 898-1388 x 41706.
Academic Terms and Usage
Dr. vs. MD
On first reference use a physician’s degree information after their name:
Janet Smith, MD, PhD, spoke at the conference.
On subsequent references use Dr. Smith.
Do not use Dr. and MD, DO or PhD together when referring to a doctor.
For example, Dr. Jane Smith, DO, is an internist.
Nursing degrees/certifications/licensures:
Always place the highest level of academic achievement first, followed by other degrees and certifications or licensures. Place certifications or licensures after earned degrees as they need to be renewed and can be revoked.
Alicia Mendez, MSN, RN
Administrative Style and Usage
Address Formats
In copy, electronic addresses are lowercase: john_doe@nevhc.org
Internet
NEVHC related URLs are to be written in lowercase characters except
when doing so may result in confusion or a misread
nevhc.org/healthcenters
facebook.com/nevhc
Streets
Use the following abbreviations: Ave., Blvd. and St. when using a numbered street address. Alley, Drive, Road, Terrace are always spelled.
The Newhall Health Center is at 23413 Lyons Ave.
The Newhall Health Center is on Lyons Avenue.
Fax and Telephone Numbers:
For fax and phone numbers, use the following format: 212-621-1500. If extension numbers are needed, use a comma to separate the main number from the extension:212-621-1500, ext.2
Building Names
Building Names
Dental Centers
Rainbow Dental Center
San Fernando Dental Center
Sun Valley Dental Center
Health Centers
Canoga Park Health Center
Newhall Health Center
Pacoima Health Center
Pacoima Women’s Health Center
San Fernando Health Center
Santa Clarita Health Center
Sun Valley Health Center
Transitions to Wellness
Valencia Health Center
Van Nuys Adult Health Center
Van Nuys Pediatric Health Center
School Based Health Centers
Los Angeles Mission College- Student Health Center
Maclay Health Center for Children
Teen Health Center- San Fernando High School
General Style Preferences
Abbreviations
Write out the full names of offices and institutions before using abbreviations, adding abbreviations in parentheses only if you intend to use them alone in subsequent references.
Northeast Valley Health Corporation (NEVHC) is a federally qualified health center. Quality health services at NEVHC are used by thousands of patients.
Composition Titles
Use quotation marks around the titles of books, lectures, speeches and works of art. Capitalize articles— the, a, an— or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in the title.
“How to Be Well” by Frank Limpan, M.D. offers simple tips on how to lead a healthier life.
Diseases
Capitalize the name of a disease when it is known by the name of a person or geographical area.
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism, obesity
Gender References
Copy intended to apply to all genders should be written without gender bias implied. Avoid singular pronouns (he, she, his, hers) when referring to all genders. A plural construction often solves the problem.
Donors may pay by credit card.
Names
Use a person’s first and last name the first time they are mentioned. Only used last names on subsequent references.
Punctuation
Use a single space after a period.
Use commas to separate elements in a series.
Apples, bananas and cucumbers are healthy snacks.
Include a comma in a simple series if omitting it makes the meaning unclear.
The $10 million grant is to be split among Organization A, Organization B, Organization C, and Organization D. Omitting the comma after Organization C would indicate that Organization C and Organization D would have to split one-third of the grant.
Time
Date
Month, day, year: September 10, 2009
Time
Use a.m. and p.m. for formal work such as press releases. Use am and pm for less formal work such as social media posts.
To indicate duration of time, use “to” between the hours in text, and en dash in calendars: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 9-11 a.m.
The asthma workshop will be held from 3 to 4 p.m.
Use noon and midnight instead of 12pm and 12am. Do not use “12 midnight” or “12 noon” as it is redundant.
Months
Abbreviate months when used with a specific date: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out if used alone or with a year.
The asthma workshop is on Sept. 22.
The asthma workshop will be held in September.
The asthma workshops will be held on Sept. 1, Sept. 22 and Sept. 25.
Days of the Week
Capitalize days of the week and do not use periods to abbreviate them.
Use the following abbreviations Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat.
SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES
Vestibulum cursus in ligula lacinia lobortis. Morbi at velit at velit auctor efficitur ut ac justo. Donec quam est, suscipit vel ligula ut, aliquet maximus libero. Pellentesque finibus tellus vitae dolor lacinia eleifend.
WEBSITE GUIDELINES
Nulla sit amet nunc massa. Praesent sed est pellentesque, varius tellus non, efficitur nisi. Sed sit amet purus in odio varius tincidunt. Mauris ut ante lobortis, elementum orci efficitur, bibendum leo.
Word List
Checkup (n.); check up (v.)
diabetes type 1 and type 2
dietitian
e-newsletter (E-newsletter at the beginning of a sentence)
follow-up (n. and adj.); follow up (v.)
health care
health center: lowercase when referring to health centers in general
K-12
login (used as a noun or adjective, like “login ID”); log in (used as a verb, to “log in”)
Medicaid
Medicare
nonprofit
OB-GYN
Pap smear or Pap test
U.S.
Web
website
X-ray
ZIP code
SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES
Overview
Our social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are important and influential channels of communication that help us reach our community. These guidelines have been developed to assist you in posting content and managing these sites.
