Hospital's updated site includes Web nursery

The hospital launched its revamped Web site last month at www.citizensmemori

al.com.

Enhancements include an updated physician list, the ability to set appointments online and an online nursery.

“It was outdated,” said Kacie Campbell, public relations coordinator for CMH, of the old Web site. “We have had a lot of physician changes, and we wanted to update that.”

The primary purposes for launching a new Web site were to make the hospital’s array of services and an updated list of physicians more accessible to visitors, Campbell said.

“We went in to make it look a little more appealing, a little more user-friendly and just added some extra features so that people would have a better understanding of the services available,” she said.

New choices

Features available on the Web site include information on the hospital’s history, CMH clinics, long-term care facilities, volunteering and news releases concerning the hospital.

“We’re excited that it’s such a fresh, new look and that it has functionality that it didn’t have before, with the online nursery and the (option to) send a free e-card to a patient and that type of thing,” said Sherry Montileone, supervisor of information services at CMH.

Through the new site, friends and family can send free e-cards to patients in CMH, patients can set up appointments with physicians and job hunters can apply online for jobs posted at the online career center. The new site also provides access to a library of health information.

“An extensive library of health information and interactive tools is a great addition for patients to make positive decisions about a healthier lifestyle,” CEO/Executive Director Donald J. Babb said in a news release.

Baby pictures

An online nursery allows guests to view pictures of newborns, searchable by name or date of birth. The first name and last initial of the child is posted with pictures, provided the parents signed a consent form. Parents can opt to restrict viewing of their child to friends and family or limit access to additional information by making it password accessible, Campbell said.

The future holds more interactive additions for the Web site. Montileone said her department is hoping to add more functionality to the Web site this year through additions such as an online gift shop. The more distant future holds potential for patients to check lab results and other records online.

“We’re laying the ground work to actually be able to provide health information, so that a patient would be able to be issued a password or a (personal identification number). And they could actually get on and be interactive with their health information,” she said.

Montileone said the site was paid for mostly through program equity credits through VHA Inc., a health care provider alliance of more than 2,200 not-for-profit health care organizations.

The actual cost of the new site was not available by press time.

“The public is expecting so much more of Web sites today,” Montileone said. “We just want to be able to participate in that.”