As construction on the new hospital tower reaches new heights, the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) staff have been watching its dramatic progress this year with keen interest.
Sensing the budding excitement, UNMH leadership found a creative way to give them a more direct role in the hospital expansion.
From April to May, UHMH ran an in-house nickname contest to replace the phrase “new hospital tower” with something more interesting and original.
While it will not be the tower’s official title, the nickname serves as an informal, colloquial term for UNMH to use internally.
Staff responded to this challenge by submitting more than 600 unique ideas in three weeks. Misty Salaz, UNMH internal communications manager, was pleased to see such high participation from staff.
The response rate from the contest among staff was impressive. This was a great way to engage our team members and let them know that they are such a big part of this project
“The response rate from the contest among staff was impressive,” she said. “This was a great way to engage our team members and let them know that they are such a big part of this project.”
Once all the submissions were in, a committee faced the daunting challenge of narrowing down the suggestions to only five.
After a few days of deliberation, the top five nominations were presented to staff for a final vote to determine first, second and third place. More than a thousand staff responded with their votes.
After two months of brainstorming and voting, UNMH announced the winner and two runners-up on May 25.
“Critical Care Tower (CCT),” submitted by Brian Carter, RN, claimed first place and became the new hospital tower’s honorary nickname.
Alex Walker, a project coordinator with Talent Acquisition, received second place for “Sky Tower.” Shantel King, a cardiovascular tech, finished in third place with “Skyview.”
Each winner received a prize and a certificate for their participation in the contest in early June.
The contest to find a nickname for the tower proved to be much more than a fun and friendly competition among staff.
Most importantly, the challenge strengthened the pride staff feel about this important project. As the Critical Care Tower continues to take shape, UNMH will develop more exciting ways to include team members in the hospital expansion.
To learn more, visit https://unmhealth.org/locations/tower.html.
