Internists Associated turned 40 last year and—like a lot of 40-year-olds, probably?—we started
thinking about where we’ve been and where we’re going.
For us, treating patients like family isn’t just a saying. We are a second-generation, family-owned
practice dedicated to serving our community. Our passion for medicine and pride in our home
drive us to provide the best possible experience for our patients—who are also our neighbors,
friends and family.
How could we better communicate that to our patients and crystallize it for ourselves, we
wondered? So last year we started working with a small team of marketing and branding
professionals to make our thoughts a reality.
First came updating our name—from Internists Associated to Muncie Primary Care. It’s simpler
and clearer, and it makes it easier for newcomers to find us and understand what we do. From
your 20s to your 90s and beyond, we want to be the first place you go with your health-care
questions and concerns.
But a new name is only the start. In the near future, we’ll be announcing some exciting news
about our building. We’ll also introduce you to the newest member of our team, Dr. Nick Berlon.
But for now, we want to tell you about our new logo—and no, we didn’t just pick something
pretty (though it is). We put a lot of thought into what it would represent.
We chose for a symbol the dogwood tree. One of the first trees to flower each spring, it
represents new life and fresh starts to many people—and now to us. At the same time, it’s
homegrown, a tree that is native to Indiana.
The dogwood flower’s four petals, stylistically rendered in our new logo, keep alive the memory
of the four “Tummy People” from our original logo. Remember these guys?
We’ve been calling them the Tummy People all these years, haha. The Tummy People are gone,
but their memory remains.
The four petals also nicely correspond to our four-part statement of purpose and our four core
values—which we’ve always had but, boy, it’s refreshing to spell things out sometimes.
Our purpose—the reason we do what we do:
- We believe health care is about people, not numbers.
- We believe every patient needs an advocate.
- We believe that strong physician/patient relationships lead to better health outcomes.
- We believe in our community and are committed to it.
And our four core values—the goals we have in mind every morning when we start work: - We believe timely responses to patients is a key component of building trust and
providing best-in-class customer service. - We will make the health-care experience easier and more convenient for patients so they
are more likely to pursue the care they need. - We will show respect to patients by being attentive and understanding and giving them
the space to advocate for themselves. - We will work to get to know our patients on a personal level and ensure they feel like
family and not a number.
All this self-reflection has really been a shot in the arm—pun intended—for us and our staff. We
don’t just work for paychecks, though that is important. We also work for people—for you—and
for our own sense of purpose and pride in what we do.
We hope we get to do it for another 40 years and beyond.