Four Ballad Health hospitals select new names
As Ballad Health continues its work to bring together hospitals, medical practices and other services to form a Community Health Improvement Organization, one small but important step is rolling out the new Ballad Health brand. This includes discussions between hospital leadership within the system and local leaders, community boards and other key stakeholders to outline the naming convention for facilities under the Ballad Health name. After evaluating options, four facilities have selected new names to reflect both their important roles within the health system and their deep ties to the communities they serve.
“Being part of Ballad Health means these community hospitals are part of an integrated system that includes a children’s hospital, trauma care, and access to some of the nation’s leading care in highly specialized services. But because Ballad Health is governed by people who live in this region with deep ties to the community, we also believe strongly in the role of rural hospitals as community assets contributing to Ballad Health’s strength,” said Eric Deaton, Ballad Health’s senior vice president of market operations. “Because of this, we are happy to announce that all our hospital names will continue to reflect their deep connections with the communities they serve.”
Rather than changing every hospital name to Ballad Health, it was determined that the system would instead adopt a standard naming convention that incorporates each facility’s existing name and identity within the community. In order to help patients throughout the region easily navigate the health system and identify the breadth of services offered in each location, the term “medical center” will now be used only in the names of Ballad Health’s three tertiary facilities, reflecting common practices among other health systems nationally.
Effective November 1, the following name changes will occur:
- Indian Path Medical Center (Kingsport, Tennessee) will become Indian Path Community Hospital.
- Mountain View Regional Medical Center (Norton, Virginia) will become Mountain View Regional Hospital.
- Russell County Medical Center (Lebanon, Virginia) will become Russell County Hospital.
- Unicoi County Memorial Hospital (Erwin, Tennessee) will become Unicoi County Hospital.
Takoma Regional Hospital and Laughlin Memorial Hospital in Greeneville will also select new names in the coming months to reflect the merged identity of the two hospitals, and those names will be announced at a later date. All other hospital names will remain the same, and no service line changes are associated with the name changes.
The changes will be updated on Ballad Health’s website on Nov. 1, and signage at the facilities will be updated November 1 and 2, with the exception of Unicoi County Hospital, whose signs were updated upon opening of the new facility October 23. Updated signage with Ballad Health branding at other facilities will be deployed over the next several months.
Learn more about Ballad Health hospitals.
