Grand Erie health unit rebranding focuses on unification of served communities, range of available services

HALDIMAND—Just under half a year since the former Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit and the Brant County Health Unit merged into a single healthcare organization known as Grand Erie Public Health (GEPH), the team behind the scenes are looking for input to help shape the brand and identity that the new public health unit presents to the public.

“As we launch our new Grand Erie Public Health identity, the goal of the rebrand will be to develop one cohesive brand voice and visual identify across all programs and services we offer to the communities we serve,” said a group response to a set of questions sent by The Press.

The rebranding process takes several factors into consideration, including feedback from the Board of Health, which Haldimand Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley sits on as the sole Haldimand representative, as well as community partners and community feedback collected through an online survey.

Bentley previously spoke with The Press about her role on the board, committing to advocating for issues including mental health supports, homelessness, addiction, and gender-based violence, and ensuring Haldimand’s voice is heard clearly in board discussions.

The survey asks participants to share what public health means to them in their own words before presenting a series of questions such as which values are most important for GEPH to embody and how you would like to feel after interacting with GEPH. Participants were also asked how they would like to receive news about public health items, and about any past experience they may have had with programming offered by the former Haldimand Norfolk and Brant County health units.

Asked how a new brand might reflect the unique identities of the various communities that the amalgamated health unit now serves, the group replied, “Through our meaningful engagement approach, we want to ensure we hear from a wide variety of users that access our public health programs and services across all the communities we serve.”

A large part of implementing the new brand and the organization as a whole is to present a unified identity, while also highlighting the wide range of programs and services offered by the health unit.

A sample of those services includes immunization and disease screening, health education programs, family and child health support, child development services, prenatal and parenting programs, support for children’s dental services, injury prevention, healthy living promotion, harm reduction strategies, and more.

For more detailed information on these programs and services, you can visit the agency’s website at geph.ca.

That’s also where the survey is available, until May 25, 2025.

Those wishing to provide feedback after that date are welcome: “We’re always open to constructive feedback about our programs and services,” said the group statement.