HSN CEO defends name change

Health Sciences North (HSN) CEO Dr. Denis Roy found himself on the defensive, Nov. 9, when presenting an update on the facility's progress to city council.

Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis said he believes the health sciences centre has forgotten something critical through its rebranding process: the city itself. The decision to not have “Sudbury” in the name portrays the idea the centre has “forgotten its partnership with the city” and its residents. By changing the logo and the name, Health Science North has forgotten it roots, he said.

“Sudbury needs to be in the name, it needs that recognition,” Dupuis said. “I feel slighted that you have forgotten that.”

The name Health Science North/Horizon Sante-Nord means “an academic health science centre where excellent care, excellent teaching and excellent research is being carried out,” Roy told Northern Life when the name was unveiled, Nov. 1. Following the Nov. 9 presentation, he said he was “surprised to some extent” to find himself defending the name change, but he said it's “not unexpected.”

“It still needs to be explained,” Roy said. “(Many people) still call the Memorial the Memorial, although it has been the Sudbury Regional Hospital for the past 10 years. There are some physicians who still call the Ramsey Lake Health Centre the Laurentian Hospital. It will take time, but it will sink in.”

Dupuis said millions of taxpayers' dollars have gone into the hospital over the years, and “it would have been nice for the city to have a voice in the decision.”

While city council may not have had a say in the name, it was presented to former mayor John Rodriguez, current mayor Marianne Matichuk and CAO Doug Nadorozny. It was Rodriguez who referred Ian Wood, acting manager of Economic Development for the City of Greater Sudbury, to the steering committee. They were all receptive of the new name, Roy said.

Since the rebranding, Roy said he has been receiving both negative and positive feedback, and it's about evenly distributed. Positive comments usually refer to the change in focus from a hospital to a research hospital, as well as the fact the new name will lead to a change in culture, he said. The negative comments surround the absence of the words “hospital” and “Sudbury”, and the cost of redefining the facility and its objectives, Roy added.

“The positive feedback is what counts, because it reflects the change in vision and the change in culture,” he said. “This has taken a year and 1,600 interviews to get to this point – it was not invented in my office behind closed doors.”
In the long term, the new identity means better quality patient care through more teaching opportunities, through research for new medications and through ways to provide care, or even new ways to reduce wait times, Roy said.

“With this new way of thinking, patient care will be better; therefore, the community will be better, not only from the point of view of health, but from the economic point of view of research, where every $1 invested results in $4 back.”
Researchers who are hired at Health Science North are expected to find four times their salary in grants, he explained.

“That's not a minimal amount. In fact, University Health Network has $260 million coming, so just imagine what this can do for the community.”

Mayor Marianne Matichuk said while she agrees with some of the councillors, Health Sciences North has every right to change its name.

“There are a lot of feelings surrounding this, and that's what happens with change in a democratic society – everyone wants an opinion,” she said “At the end of the day, sometimes it's good to just move on, change the name and the focus. If we're going to move forward, we need to do those things. “I think the hospital is looking to grow and expand the research section, and they are a big economic driver in our city.”

Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen