A Simcoe County woman has launched a public campaign to change the name of Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital to something more positive and upbeat.
Sick Kids Hospital was founded in 1875. It is renowned as one of the top children’s hospitals in the world, but Robin H-C believes using the words healing or magic in the institution's name would inspire young patients.
H-C, of Collingwood, has created an online petition and Facebook page, looking for support to remove the word sick from the hospital's name and replace it with a more positive word. She is reaching out to individuals and businesses across the province to build support for her idea.
"We know that scientifically affirmations speed healing by at least 30 per cent," she argues. "It's basic brain science and positive psychology."
"There are also studies done on how labels placed on children become part of their identity. Let's send our precious little people to hospitals that heal kids."
As a life coach and writer, H-C says she uses an example of language used by airlines when talking about safety and emergency procedures.
Using "water landing" instead of "crash" avoids activating the 'body alarm' or fight or flight response in the body, she said.
In her petition, H-C, argues that the current name, Sick Kids, is not aligned with healing and was created before there was an understanding of the power of language on behavior and biology.
The hospitals current environment is "saturated with this counter intuitive name and is an unconscious pull to be 'sick' and not heal.
"In addition to this all the staff will be repeating, sick kids, sick kids, sick kids, over and over again. What if their focus was healing, healing, healing?
"We can actually change our immune system through words and thoughts."
While support is growing, H-C said there has been criticism as well.
"There's been a lot of backlash," she said. "I knew there would be some resistance to the idea, but I didn't expect people to be closed to the logical discussion."
Many people who have used Sick Kids Hospital "have a lot of sentiment and love" for the institution.
"I think people are hearing the name change as an attack on all the good work that is done there and that is not at all what this is," H-C said, suggesting that the "Sick Kids" label is "geared toward creating a gut-renching urgency to donate."
H-C would like to see a more neutral name that includes "healing" and is positive and "kid-like".
Changing names and "rebranding" institutions is a common practice.
Locally, Barrie's Royal Victoria Hospital became Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre to better reflect the hospital's regional service area.
Also, the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre was rebranded as Waypoint Centre for Mental Health in 2011.
H-C says a name change at Sick Kids would facilitate and speed up healing, boost immune systems, and ultimately save childrens' lives.
She was inspired to launch the petition and awareness campaign after a friend's five-year-old daughter started chemotherapy treatment for leukemia.
"This is such a logical thing," she explained. "We owe it to her and to all of the kids to give them every possible support and positive thought we can."
The Facebook page - Our mission: to rename Sick Kids Hospital to a healing one for little ears (https://www.facebook.com/healingkids/?fref=nf), has attracted close to 200 members.
To support H-C's petition, go to:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/130/417/497/rename-sick-kids-hospital-to-healing-title-for-little-ears/
