London, ON – Whether you’re a parent, a health care provider, a teacher, an employer or just someone looking for accurate, reliable local health information, your search just got easier. After months of planning, designing, writing and testing, the Middlesex-London Health Unit took the wraps off its completely redesigned website today. While it can still be found at www.healthunit.com, the overhauled resource bears no resemblance to the previous version of the Health Unit’s website. Built by London and Toronto-based web design and marketing firm, Resolution Interactive Media, the new site constitutes much more than a facelift.
“While our website had grown and we’d added new features over the years, its foundation and architecture hadn’t changed. With more and more people turning to the Internet for health information, we knew it was time to completely rethink our website,” says Bryna
Warshawsky, Acting Medical Officer of Health with the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “Our redesigned website is the result of many months of collaboration between our staff, our partners and our clients. We’re very pleased with the result.”
ResIM was selected to undertake the project in the spring of 2012, after a competitive bid process. Before beginning the construction phase, the firm consulted Health Unit staff, other local agencies, clients and website visitors on matters related to the content and design for the new website. All of the content that was created for the site was written and reviewed by Health Unit staff.
The redesigned www.healthunit.com features a robust search engine and navigation which make finding information much easier than was possible on the previous version of the website. The site also features “responsive design”, which allows content to be displayed optimally based on the device being used, whether it is a computer, tablet, smart phone or other device. Among the website’s other features is the integration of the Health Unit’s social media channels, including YouTube, Twitter and its recently created Facebook page.
The website features more than 1,300 individual pages on a wide variety of health topics aimed at families, youth, parents and professionals and has links to partner agencies and organizations. The site was built to comply with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act as they relate to new websites, and features citations and references as recommended under the Health On the Net Foundation Code of Conduct, or HONcode.
Media contact:
Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit, 519-663-5317 ext.2469 or 519-617-0570 (cell.)
Spokespeople:
Dr. Bryna Warshawsky, Acting Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex-London Health Unit
Alex Tyml, Online Communications Coordinator, Middlesex-London Health Unit