Stoke

Background
With over 7,000 employees, and hosting 2,300 credentialed physicians, Swedish is the Northwest’s largest nonprofit healthcare provider. Operating four (soon, five) hospital locations and scores of clinical care centers, the organization is distinguished by its specialty Institutes in cancer, neuroscience, orthopedic and heart & vascular care.

Challenge
Healthcare has entered a transformative era. Standardized care protocols, quality assurance measures, the diffusion of technology and transparency of clinical outcomes has leveled the playing field, requiring leading providers to push further into brand differentiation.

Swedish tasked the team at Stoke to initiate a comprehensive brand development program including a quantitative brand equity study, strategic positioning recommendation, services architecture, corporate training, brand messaging and visual identity system.

Stoke designed a "Patient Experience Study" using ethnographic research techniques to chart 23 trips through hospitals and identifying ways to design a superior patient experience. The study was supplemented with 300+ patient journals and 12 in-home patient interviews to understand consumer needs and perceptions.

Outcome
Stoke developed the "Swedish Experience" program, with clear and consistent principles for the integrated design of architecture, policy, culture, communication, amenities, process and technology integration.

Stoke led over 600 senior managers and nursing staff through training, a process that informs the design of new hospital facilities in Issaquah and Ballard and several ambulatory care centers planned throughout the region.

Stoke provided creative direction, concept development and brand management tools to establish Swedish’s visual identity guidelines. These tools are being used to coordinate the design of facilities, websites and print collateral materials, to present a unique and comprehensively branded "Swedish Experience."