New year, new website for Norton County Hospital
February 2, 2017
NORTON, Kan. – A 2016 study by the Pew Research Center showed that U.S. adults often get their news on a screen, with television (57 percent) and online news (38 percent – through social media, websites and apps) rising to the top of the list. Radio (25 percent) and print newspapers (20 percent) also were important avenues for adults to get news information.
Norton County Hospital realizes that its patients, visitors and the public at large get information in different ways, which is why it works with many media avenues to release information. Because of the importance of online media in today’s society, hospital staff developed and launched a new website for Norton County Hospital, which also includes information about the hospital’s clinics – Norton Medical Clinic and Logan Clinic – and the Norton Regional Health Foundation.
Goals of the new website include:
- Build a responsive website, which means it is intended to have sn optimal viewing display for all sizes of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
- Make the navigation simpler and more user-friendly, with a main navigation at the top and a pull-down sub-menu below the main navigation.
- Showcase the breadth of services of Norton County Hospital, Norton Medical Clinic and Logan Clinic, as well as highlight all departments that make the hospital and clinics function on a daily basis. In addition to everyday services, the website includes a listing of outpatient specialty clinics and serves as a place where visiting specialists are listed, along with their contact information, how to make an appointment and when that specialist typically visits Norton.
- Create an online landing place to find more information not only about the Norton County Hospital and its clinics, but also allow for more information about the newly created Norton Regional Health Foundation.
- Provide more visual aesthetics to the website, such as photos and videos. For example, users can watch recent videos from the home page. Pages within the “Services” tab showcase photos, and more photos will continue to be added in the future. Pages within the “Our People” tab display information about medical providers, hospital leaders and board members, as well as photos that help put faces to names.
- Whether looking on “Patient/Visitor Info” pages, the “Contact Us” page or any of the “Services,” display appropriate contact information (phone numbers, faxes and emails), as well as policies, hours and directions to various parts of the facilities to make it as easy as possible for patients and visitors to get connected appropriately.
- Allow for the hospital to provide transparency to the public by posting more news information, a newly created internal newsletter, an upcoming events calendar and recent announcements, as examples.
- Tell more of “Our Story” by using that tab to continue to add historical information about Norton County Hospital and welcoming public input on building the history.
- Provide appropriate external links to more information on most website pages, which is intended to provide users with resources outside of Norton County Hospital and help them learn more about their health.
- Get social! Allow website users to easily find associated social media pages and email Norton County Hospital any testimonials or other feedback.
The website will be updated continually to enhance the goals mentioned. The website address is the same as it has always been, www.ntcohosp.com.
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