MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
May 15 , 2012
(LONDON, Ontario) – The Health Care Public Relations Association (HCPRA) is pleased to announce that London Health Sciences Centre’s (LHSC) Corporate Communications and Public Relations department has been awarded a first place Hygeia Award in the Special Purpose Communication category.
Mary Gillet, Director; Cathy Cuylle, Manager; and Laura Tyrrell, Communications Associate, have been honoured by HCPRA for their Celebrating South Street Hospital award submission highlighting event planning and communication activities implemented for the celebration at South Street Hospital.
During Doors Open London in September 2011, LHSC opened the doors of its hospital on South Street for public tours for the first and last time in its history. Visitors came in record numbers for a Doors Open London site in the ten year history of the annual event, with nearly 6,000 people visiting the hospital during the weekend celebration event.
“We congratulate our communications team on receiving a national award from HCPRA, celebrating excellence in health care communications,” says Bonnie Adamson, LHSC president and CEO. “Thank you to all the departments and partners who made the event at South Street Hospital a resounding success. Without a doubt, the celebration embodied our vision of exceptional experiences, extraordinary people and engaging partnerships – a proud day for LHSC.”
The Hygeia Awards are presented annually to recognize excellence in health care communications and to honour outstanding pieces and accomplishments across Canada. The awards program encourages Canadian health care public relations professionals to strive to meet the highest standards in their communications work, regardless of size, resources or location of their place of employment. There are ten award categories. The Hygeia Awards were recently presented at HCPRA’s annual conference in Calgary.
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About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
Health Care Public Relations Association
HCPRA is the only organization addressing the particular concerns of public relations professionals in Canadian health care, with over 350 members across the country. For more information, visit www.hcpra.org
For media inquiries contact:
Laura Tyrrell
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 75724
Laura.Tyrrell@lhsc.on.ca
Jane Petricic
National Coordinator, HCPRA
613-729-2102
info@hcpra.org
www.hcpra.org
