Hear Ye... Hear Ye... Heralding In A New Era

On 6 November 1995 we welcomed our first patient to our new Hospital at Westmead. So on 6 November 2000, acknowledging that we aren't really 'new' any more, we launched our new name - The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

This change takes into account the view of many staff and a wide range of our donors and supporters. By modifying our commonly used name we will now more accurately reflect what we are... a Children's Hospital, and where we are... at Westmead.

The history steeped in our legal name - The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children - will not be forgotten. Ingrained in this name, of which are very proud, is our long tradition of care, which will continually inspire us to push the boundaries to deliver excellence in child health care.

So what's in a name change? A fresh new look for the Hospital and one that reinforces what we are all about... kids, care and leadership.

We've introduced two very strong and vibrant colours into our corporate look. As for our logo, you'll notice that "children" presents a happy and free style to complement the otherwise authoritative styled font. These new fonts reinforce our philosophy of leadership and care and you will now see them used in all our hospital publications and promotional material.

No, we won't lose the Bandaged Bear; he is and always will symbolise our association with kids. He will however, take his rightful place as our mascot and will be able to be used more effectively to create a positive association with our Hospital.

Something new is the introduction of a 'tag line' - think. kids. You'll see a lot more of this tag line which it is envisioned will come to stand alone as a symbol of our values and our attitude - somewhat like that other very familiar tag line: just do it.

These changes are exciting and offer a wide range of opportunities to help us effectively and consistently communicate with, and present professionally to, our community.

With the assistance of our suppliers and in particular the generous help of Emery Vincent Design, implementing these changes will occur gradually, enabling existing stocks to be exhausted and ensuring that costs will be kept to a minimum. In fact, various elements of the change will lead to significant cost savings as we simplify designs and rationalise printed materials.

We'll work closely with the Roads and Transport Authority to change road signage and we'll maintain close liaison with our friends in the media to help promote our improved name throughout the community.

To quote Professor Oates "what will not change is our 120 year old tradition of caring for the very sickest of children in a way which combines technical excellence with compassion and care for each individual child and parent as special people with particular needs".