REBRANDING NORWEGIAN AMERICAN HOSPITAL
NORWEGIAN AMERICAN HOSPITAL BECOMES HUMBOLDT PARK HEALTH, AFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY
HUMBOLDT PARK HEALTH (www.hph.care), formerly Norwegian American Hospital, introduces a new name and brand on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 10:00 am.
Chicago, 28 January. Humboldt Park Health (www.HPH.care), formerly Norwegian American Hospital, introduces its new identity at a press conference today. The new name, Humboldt Park Health, signifies a renewal of its commitment to the Humboldt Park community, its patients, and their families. Placing the new tagline, Advancing Health Equity, within the new brand identify emphasizes the importance of this objective, keeping it at the forefront of its mission and purpose as an organization. The new name takes effect January 28, 2021.
When founded more than 125 years ago as Norwegian American Hospital, the name reflected the community it was founded to serve. Today, Humboldt Park is home to a more diverse and inclusive community, including a large minority population that faces significant socioeconomic challenges. The new name honors this diversity of ethnicities, races, cultures, languages, religions, family structures, and experiences.
“Our new name honors the community we serve today, as it has evolved and grown,” said José R. Sánchez, President and CEO at Humboldt Park Health, “and our new identity underscores our focus on Advancing Health Equity. This means that we are – and will continue to be — committed to ensuring that members of our community have fair and just opportunities to be as healthy as possible.”
The focus on health equity is critical now more than ever. Humboldt Park has been hit especially hard by COVID-19 and Latino and Black communities are suffering and dying from COVID-19 at much higher rates than white Americans. “Advancing Health Equity requires that we work to remove the obstacles to health,” Mr. Sanchez explained, “such as poverty, systemic racism, discrimination, and their consequences.”
“Our new name and identity highlight our role in the future of healthcare,” said Mr. Sanchez, “while keeping true to our core mission to proactively engage with the community, provide health education, and promote wellness for all residents, including the elderly, immigrants, undocumented individuals, non-English speakers, the poor, and the uninsured.”
Rebranding FAQ
1. Why are we rebranding now?
The world of healthcare has changed significantly since Norwegian American Hospital was founded more than 125 years ago. At that time, the name reflected the community it was meant to serve. Today, Humboldt Park has become home to a more diverse and inclusive community, including a large minority population that faces significant socioeconomic challenges. Humboldt Park Health (HPH), our new name, honors this diversity of ethnicities, races, cultures, languages, religions, family structures, and experiences. While this has been under consideration for more than three years, recently the Board and Hospital Leadership felt a renewed focus on health equity is more vital now than ever. At this unique moment in time, emerging from the pandemic, emphasizing Humboldt Park Health’s commitment to advancing health equity is critical to our mission. Our community has been hit especially hard with the coronavirus. Race or ethnicity should not determine anyone’s opportunity for good health or social well-being, but, as COVID-19 has shown, we are far from this goal. We are focusing our commitment to locally leading the change that is so urgently needed.
2. Is the name change part of a merger or acquisition?
No. This name change is in no way related to any outside merger or acquisition. The new brand identity is an important step in reaffirming our commitment to the Humboldt Park community of today. Humboldt Park Health (HPH), our new name, honors this diversity of ethnicities, races, cultures, languages, religions, family structures, and experiences. The new tagline, Advancing Health Equity, signals a rebirth of our legacy and a commitment to addressing how healthcare is changing, with a focus on the social determinants of health for the communities we serve.
3. What does ‘Advancing Health Equity’ mean?
Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, systemic racism, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, healthy food, first-rate education and housing, safe environments, and affordable health care.
4. Are the Norwegian American Hospital Foundation and Century PHO included in the new brand identity and name change?
Yes, Humboldt Park Health (HPH) replaces all instances where the Norwegian American Hospital brand formerly existed
- Norwegian American Hospital is now Humboldt Park Health (HPH) www.hph.care
- Norwegian American Hospital Foundation is now Humboldt Park Health Foundation (HPHFoundation) www.hphfoundation.care
- Century PHO is now Humboldt Park Health Partners (HPHPartners) www.hphpartners.care
5. Will there be a new email address?
Yes, the new email domain is @hph.care. For the next several months, email with the former @nahopsital.org address will automatically be forwarded to the new domain. For example: the new email for Susana Gomez will be Sgomez@hph.care
6. How did you determine the new brand?
The brand refresh stakeholder team followed a multi-step process to define the new brand elements, including iconography, color, and typeface. Core elements of personality, design, and application were explored. These became the Basis of Design for the brand. The design team studied more than 1,900 branding design options, which were pared down and evaluated by the stakeholder team. The primary options were refined with input from stakeholders, who then evaluated them using a Choosing by Advantage selection process to evaluate options on quantifiable metrics.
7. Who was involved in defining the new brand?
A diverse team of stakeholders from across Norwegian American Hospital were deeply engaged into the brand refresh process. Members of the Executive and Leadership Teams and Board of Directors engaged in workshops to create the new brand identity. This team raised insights about the current context of Norwegian American Hospital, defined success for this initiative, laid the foundation of brand design considerations, and engaged into a rigorous process to select the preferred brand options.
8. What does the icon represent?
Inspired from the form of a butterfly, symbolizing rebirth, the informal “H” letterform, can signify Humboldt Park Health, Hospital, or Health. The softened edges of the icon decrease its formality, reflecting our approachable and community-grounded focus on health and wellness.
9. Why were these colors selected?
Dominant green reflects emotions of freshness and renewal, while blue is associated with trust and resilience. The dominant color is presented in the typeface “Health” to create a more cohesive brand and to accentuate the importance of “health.”
10. When should I expect to see changes?
Starting January 28, 2021, you will see the Humboldt Park Health brand replace all instances where the Norwegian American Hospital brand formerly existed. This includes obvious elements like physical signage as well as all digital media and print materials.
