October 9, 2004, The Brantford Expositor

An excellent rating
for health-care Web site

By Tina Draycott
Logged On column
Brantford

If you haven't taken the opportunity to tour the new wing at Brantford General Hospital, you are missing out.

BGH now sports the most advanced equipment for its professionals and the new wing is bright and beautiful. My friend Jo-Anne and I were invited to tour the new wing and were amazed at the technology the new edition has. I was able to visit areas of the hospital some people may never get the chance to see and talk about the computer resources now in place there.

After my tour, I wondered what kind of Web site a hospital such as BGH would have. Hoping for the best and not really expecting anything particularly fancy, I "Googled" the keywords "Brantford General" and, boy, was I surprised!

The Brant Community Healthcare System Web site (http://www.bchsys.org) is as clean and advanced as the new wing. It's made up of BGH, Willett Hospital and the McClure Centre. The opening page mixes both the mission statement - "A healthier community is at the centre of everything we do" with pictures of real staff and members of the community.

Peter Muir, publications co-ordinator and in-house Web master wanted a feel to the Web site that is representative of what the BGH does. Using the new mission statement in such a way has become almost a "brand" of the hospital services.

The seed for this site was planted about four years ago. Originally there were some attempts to create a site for the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS), but nothing stuck around. This is when Peter was brought in. Instructed to create a site that would be a useful tool, Peter then went to work.

Presentations were given to the board and staff. The look and feel, including colour and information layout, was all discussed in order to create a comprehensive picture of what the hospital is all about. Staff were asked what they would like to see on the Web site. As much as some staff didn't want any part of the site, other staff members wanted all the buttons and bells - what came out of this brainstorming was the first version of the Web site.

REFINED

Information was then refined, moved around and dissected. The look of the site has changed and what is now presented is actually version three of the original site. Drop-down menus were used because they are a cleaner look and all areas of the Web site are within three clicks of one another.

Each page includes an animation in the form of a news scroller. This scroller is updated constantly so that the information is always fresh. Peter is quick to insist that every few years the Web site will be revamped in order to implement new technology and advancements to create a more advanced interactive site.

The site itself is also community based. By hosting with the Brant FreeNet, the BCHS is contributing back to the area in which it serves. Tim Philp, president of Brant FreeNet, explains that "the FreeNet is a leader in providing community information and we are proud to support local agencies."

After you visit the start page you are led to the main index of the Web site. This is where the site really becomes interesting. Having links to news and history is expected - what wasn't expected was some of the other links to information. The "Send a Greeting" area was an unexpected surprise.

The site invites people to send e-mail greetings to friends or family while in the hospital. This area became extremely useful during the SARS epidemic. People were able to send "healthy wishes" without having to put themselves or their loved ones in jeopardy. With about two or three greetings sent to loved ones daily, this type of greeting is becoming very popular for those out of town or who should not go to the hospital for their own health reasons.

The Web site receives about 100,000 hits per year and that number is rapidly growing. Muir will be adding more surveys, polls and questionnaires as his ideas for the Web site continually grows. As a community we should be proud of our health services. With a Web site like this that is viewed worldwide, it is an easy thing to do.

Tina Draycott lives and works in Brantford. E-mail her at tinamarie@bfree.on.ca.