Following the merger of two major regional hospitals, the newly formed healthcare network became home to one of the largest emergency department systems in the country, serving more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. But with thousands of staff, volunteers, and stakeholders spread across multiple sites, the organization needed more than a new brand – it needed a shared vision and strong internal alignment around client-centred care.

Ryelle Strategy Group was engaged to lead a comprehensive employee and public engagement strategy to shape the hospital’s new identity, uncover strategic priorities, and build a communications infrastructure that could support system-wide transformation. Our work included:

• Designing and delivering large-scale engagement across five sites, reaching over 8,000 staff and 3,000 volunteers through town halls, digital platforms, one-on-one conversations, and street teams
• Facilitating community consultations that gathered input from 40,000+ stakeholders, including patients, families, and local partners
• Assessing internal communications, public affairs, and issues management structures to identify gaps and integration opportunities
• Supporting leadership in embedding a consistent, organization-wide commitment to the patient experience
• Providing strategic recommendations on segmentation, customization, and messaging clarity for diverse internal and external audiences

• Achieved broad organizational buy-in for the new vision and patient-centred values
• Developed a fully integrated communications infrastructure to support strategic alignment and two-way feedback
• Strengthened relationships with internal departments, frontline teams, and community partners
• Enabled the organization to move forward with a unified brand promise and internal alignment on service delivery

In large, complex systems, transformation can’t succeed without people behind it. Our team helped the organization build the foundation for cultural alignment, operational clarity, and a reimagined approach to patient and staff experience from the inside out.