Web Site: SUPER-SIZED AND SIMPLIFIED
Whenever health or medical questions arise, we tend to want them answered quickly. Yet until the advent of the Information Age, if our concerns came up after-hours or when technicians were just too busy to respond, we were out of luck.
Web sites changed that. With 24-hour access and page upon page of information linked to related organizations and resources, we can get most of our questions answered in as little time as it takes to ask them. If we know how and where to look.
The only thing better than a web site is an improved site, offering more services and information, more efficient links, faster loading time, and updated search tools to facilitate navigation.
Community Hospital’s web site has undergone a facelift. After an exhaustive search, the hospital has partnered with Geonetric, one of the most innovative internet companies in the market, to upgrade the site with new and improved functions.
“The search tool of our site is greatly improved,” says Community Hospital electronic communication specialist Fritz Liess.
“When the visitor types in a keyword, related content is automatically displayed on the page. That makes it easier to find a wide range of information about the topic.
“After reading an article about the Breast Care Center, for example, the visitor can go directly to a page about treatment options and services.”
There are four main reasons people visit Community Hospital’s web site. First, they want contact information such as addresses, phone numbers, and driving directions to the hospital and its satellite locations. Second, they’re looking for doctor information. Patients like to read a profile on their physician and to see a picture of the person who will care for them. It seems to help relieve anxiety to familiarize themselves with a doctor before a visit.
Third, people visit the site in search of employment opportunities. The site hosts a career section, recently updated and expanded, so people can actually research and apply for a job online. And fourth, people look for ways to help — how to become part of the Auxiliary, how to donate blood, and how to make charitable contributions to the hospital.
One of the biggest improvements to the site is the ability to safely and securely pay your bill online simply by using a major credit card.
“We have also added the option for people to send electronic greeting cards to patients in the hospital,” Liess says. “All you have to do is select a card from a series of local images, personalize it with your message, and hit ‘Send’.”
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