A world-renowned Pittsburgh health system faced inconsistent visual identity and fragmented patient communication across its hospitals.
Through a long-term partnership with VisiCare™, the system implemented custom patient communication boards that unified its visual language, improved staff efficiency, and made it easy to update board content as policies and procedures evolved—without replacing the physical boards.
With more than 100,000 employees and over 40 hospitals, this nonprofit health system is known for excellence in transplantation, cancer care, and neurology. But its size and geographically dispersed network made it difficult to maintain consistent operations and branding.
Instead of treating patient communication boards as a one-time purchase, the system partnered with VisiCare to build a durable, scalable solution that supports patient-centered care and adapts as the organization grows.
Across the network, hospitals used different visual standards, wayfinding, and communication tools. Patient communication boards varied by department and facility, creating inconsistencies in messaging and care coordination.
As a result, the system struggled to deliver a unified brand and consistent patient experience. It needed a standardized, user-friendly solution.
- Establish a consistent visual language across hospitals
- Enhance staff collaboration and reduce patient uncertainty
- Adapt to each facility’s unique layout and workflow
- Evolve over time as policies, procedures, and standards changed
That need for flexibility was critical. In healthcare, policies, protocols, and standards change often, and a rigid board system would require costly replacements. The system needed a smarter, scalable approach.
The health system partnered with the VisiCare™ Art Team to create custom dry-erase patient communication boards aligned with its clinical workflows and brand standards. Through a system-wide rollout, VisiCare implemented adaptable brand guidelines that worked across diverse hospital environments.
The biggest advantage was flexibility. VisiCare’s system allows teams to update custom graphic inserts as policies and procedures change—without replacing the full whiteboard. This gives the health system a cost-effective, scalable solution that supports compliance, consistency across hospitals, and easy staff adoption.
The result is a system that maintains brand continuity while supporting clear, patient-centered communication at every site — and that keeps pace with the health system's ongoing growth.
Implementing customized VisiCare boards delivered immediate operational cohesion. By establishing a shared visual language, the health system created a more connected clinical experience that reinforced its brand and improved interactions between patients and care teams. Key results included:
- A unified patient experience across departments and facilities, reinforced by a consistent visual language system-wide
- Patient satisfaction gains in communication-focused domains, particularly nurse communication and staff responsiveness, consistent with the communication improvements that standardized bedside boards are designed to support
- Empowered staff efficiency through clear, accessible, and current information at the bedside
- A future-ready foundation that adapts as policies and procedures evolve, without requiring full board replacement
Department Spotlight: Women’s Health
The Women’s Health service line illustrates the challenge — and the solution — with particular clarity.
The dilemma: The department struggled to maintain a cohesive visual identity while operating in distinct facilities with different layouts, patient flows, and existing environmental designs. Without a standardized board system, the same service line delivered inconsistent patient experiences from location to location, weakening brand recognition and continuity of care.
The result: VisiCare’s flexible yet standardized boards allowed the department to implement a consistent visual identity aligned with the overall system brand, while adapting to the unique needs of each facility. Patients now receive the same high standard of visual communication regardless of which location they visit — and as departmental protocols change, those boards can be updated in place rather than replaced.
By standardizing its bedside communication tools with VisiCare, this integrated nonprofit health system — Pennsylvania’s largest nongovernment employer and one of its top-ranked hospital networks — reinforced its vision of coordinated, compassionate, and connected healthcare. The partnership solved immediate design and communication challenges while establishing a scalable, cost-effective innovation that supports the network’s ongoing growth.
Ready to transform patient communication and boost satisfaction? Get started with VisiCare™ White Boards today and see the difference in HCAHPS performance. Contact us now to customize your solution!