ast Thursday, St. Brendan's Hospital was renamed the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

It was a stroke of genius. For years, people have struggled to find a way to remove the stigma of mental illness. Governments and mental health professionals have tried to educate us while celebrity sufferers have used their fame to raise the issue's profile. Despite their efforts, the stigma has persisted. So congratulations to the Bermuda Hospitals Board who realised that all that was needed was a new sign and a lick of paint.

No longer will people snicker at the mention of the place on the hill. No longer will they associate it with nutters, wackos and the irredeemably mad. It's no longer a hospital, where sick people go to get better. Now it's an institute: Bermuda's newest higher education facility, whose students may one day graduate with degrees in wellness, first or second class. Wow, what a great place. Where do I enrol?

The Bermuda Hospitals Board's initiative isn't the first of its kind, however. The Department of Corrections got its name in 2002 when the then Labour and Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister renamed HM Prisons. The old name was thought to give undue emphasis to the punitive nature of a system which was in fact about "rehabilitation and restorative justice". Prisons were to be called "correctional facilities" instead.

Mr. Lister had it spot on. The inmates may only have themselves to blame for their incarceration, but that's no reason for us to make them feel like they're being punished. They need to understand that we just want to help them fix their errant behaviour. Heaven forbid that they think we're being vengeful. That could do them some psychological damage, and the last thing we'd want is for them to end up at St. Brendan's. I mean, the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

Even the schools have realised the power of a new name to make previously intractable problems just melt away. A couple of weeks ago, the Department of Education said it's considering changing the names of Clearwater, Dellwood and Spice Valley Middle Schools. And who can blame them? I can't think of a better way to improve efficiency or boost their students' test scores than renaming those schools after our local heroes.

But why stop there?

The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is such an unfriendly-sounding place, evoking images of gloomy, echoing corridors patrolled by stern, Edwardian nurses. It sounds like the kind of place you'd find in a Stephen King novel.

So how about calling it the Johnny Barnes Health Hotel instead? We get rid of any connotation of sickness implicit in "hospital", lose the reminder of mortality in "memorial" and honour a local hero at the same time. It would put you in mind of a DisneyWorld resort hotel. You'd almost look forward to visiting.

We could use the same technique to fight crime. In recent months, Bermuda has seen a rise in vigilante justice. Cases have collapsed as a result of witnesses being unwilling to co-operate with the Bermuda Police Service. But so far the politicians have been unable to figure out how to address the stigma attached to involving the Police in gang disputes.

Easy. Instead of the starchy-sounding "Bermuda Police Service", call them the "Headquarters Hill Posse". Toss out those intimidating uniforms and shiny black shoes and start issuing baggy pants, Nikes and some chunky gold jewellery instead. Swap the squad car for a set of wheels with blacked out windows, some flashy rims, and a subwoofer. You could even paint the Police HQ a different colour. I hear turquoise is popular right now.

Naysayers may cite the "New United Bermuda Party" as an example of how more than a simple name-change is required to eliminate long-held prejudice. They would be wrong. The "New UBP" made a critical mistake: they retained their old name as part of their new identity. Had they called themselves the "Phoenix Alliance" instead, no-one would have had a clue that they had anything to do with the old UBP. Poor dears. They must be kicking themselves.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board may not have been the first to realise that you can eliminate a problem by a change of nomenclature. But they've provided us with a timely reminder of the power of the technique. In honour of their achievement, I think they should be gifted with a new name of their own.

The Bermuda Euphemism Board, perhaps?