Media Release

RMH 160th celebrations win national Golden Target award

26 October 2009

Melbourne Health has won a prestigious Public Relations Institute of Australia national Golden Target Award for 'Celebrating 160 years of The Royal Melbourne Hospital'.

The award, in the Special Event/Observance category, was presented at the PRIA National Conference in Brisbane on 26 October. Melbourne Health won the Victorian award in the same category the month before.

The PRIA awards recognise top performers in Australia for excellence, best practice and professionalism in public relations and communication.

The judges agreed The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s 160^th celebration was the standout submission. They said it was “an impressive campaign of events over a long time frame with virtually no budget and executed by what must be a highly committed and talented in-house team.” The public affairs team was commended for its “outstanding range of tactics/implementation and measurable evaluation of outcomes against objectives”.

Melbourne Health’s win was particularly noteworthy as most other finalists were public relations agencies working for large corporate clients with substantial budgets. Also, the PRIA, with its tough scoring system, did not award a top prize in all categories.

Melbourne Health’s Public Affairs team successfully engaged staff in the year-long celebration of the RMH 160^th anniversary in 2008, which has led to a stronger sense of community and reinforced the organisation’s Values of Respect, Caring, Integrity, Unity and Discovery.

Just some of the activities during the year were: a walking challenge; new Living Our Values Every Day (L.O.V.E.D.) Awards; staff photographic exhibition; an RMH Month to mark the opening of the hospital in 1848; an historical exhibition on the women of RMH and their role in the development of public health; the opening of the relocated Merlyn Myer Historical Room; unveiling of the RMH Tapestry – Research and Respond, which was created through an artist-in-residency; and a staff commemorative book which was available for all staff to sign. Many of the initiatives have now become annual events. 

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