The Value of a Brand, Part 2

In the process of developing its brand, RiverStone Health considered what a clearly articulated brand means. Internally, staff are fully aligned with the brand values and attributes. A well-developed organizational culture is predicated on producing RiverStone Health’s product—a better life—and living the mission to improve life, health, and safety. Hiring processes/decisions and performance evaluations are designed to support and enhance the brand. For a review of branding, see "The Value of a Brand, Part 1."

The board of health determined that the brand mandates accreditation as “table stakes” of quality whenever accreditation is available, so the Public Health Accreditation Board accredited our public health service in June 2014, making RiverStone Health one of the first 44 accredited departments nationally. All four sites in the community health center are nationally recognized as patient-centered medical homes, homecare and hospice agencies are both fully accredited, and the residency program is accredited for both allopathic and osteopathic physicians. In 2011, RiverStone Health was designated as one of the nation’s first 11 teaching health centers by virtue of its fully integrated residency and primary care program.

Would this mandate to prove quality have happened without the development of the RiverStone Health brand? Maybe, but a strong brand is what made this imperative to prove quality absolutely necessary. The RiverStone Health brand helps tell a story about quality, our role in the community as a leading convener and collaborator, the value and impact of innovation by a public agency, and the primary importance of getting the right people “on the bus.” A few days before writing this article, I was approached by a casual acquaintance who told me that her daughter wants to work at RiverStone Health in any capacity simply because she has heard that it is a great place to work. In other words, she knows our brand and wants to be a part of bringing it to life.

A successful brand is the product of hard work, unyielding honesty, and constant vigilance. A branding initiative is not for the faint of heart or for organizations that are more interested in convincing themselves that they are great and do not need to improve. However, if an agency is willing to work, identify opportunities to improve, and be unashamedly transparent, the results can provide the inspiration needed to become the public health agency the community deserves. Who knows? Maybe you will even get a new name along the way.

The NACCHO guide Branding a Local Health Department: The Process can help local health departments adopt the business practice of branding to differentiate their role and function within the community from other health-related organizations and providers. This guide introduces brand development, describes the journey toward building a strong brand, and breaks the process into manageable steps. Download a copy at http://eweb.naccho.org/prd/?na691pdf.