Dive Brief:
- Burlington, Vt.-based Fletcher Allen Partners is changing its name to The University of Vermont Health Network. This means new names for the system's four hospitals, too.
- Through its flagship hospital, Fletcher Allen Health Care, Fletcher Allen Partners operates in alliance with The University of Vermont as an academic medical center. Under the pending change, its flagship will become University of Vermont Medical Center. The system's three other hospitals will add "The University of Vermont Health Network" to their names to show their inclusion in the academic health network.
- Fletcher Allen intends to make corporate filings with state regulators in Vermont and New York "in the coming weeks." Upon regulatory approval, the new brand will begin a 12- to 18-month rollout, expected to begin in late fall.
Dive Insight:
Similar to numerous hospitals and health systems deciding to rebrand in recent years, Fletcher Allen is betting that its effort will make the organization more competitive and more recognizable. It also will place the system’s facilities under the banner of an academic medical center. Fletcher Allen President and CEO John Brumsted, M.D., said that identifying the hospitals as part of The University of Vermont Health Network "emphasizes our academic core and signals that we are working together to provide seamless, high-quality care...no matter where patients go for services within our network."
Rebranding isn’t inexpensive (though Fletcher Allen didn't reveal anticipated rebranding costs), and it isn’t undertaken lightly. In April, Boulder Community Hospital changed its name to Boulder Community Health, for example, in an effort to reflect its transformation from a single hospital into a regional player with 18 locations over the past two decades. The expected price tag? About $220,000, including marketing, research and new signs. (Executives noted that keeping the same acronym would save on expenses.)
Industry experts say that when it is done thoughtfully, as Fletcher Allen stressed was done in its case, hospital rebranding will capture the essence of the organization, reinvigorate it and help to attract (and retain) business.
