MaineHealth announced March 7 that during 2024 it will roll out a unified identity for its hospitals and other entities across its system, making it easier for patients to understand, find and access their care.
“We are updating our look, logo and names of our hospitals, practices, administrative offices and other locations to further our shared commitment to working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” Dr. Andrew Mueller, CEO of MaineHealth, said in a prepared release.
Mueller said that not only would the new approach help patients better understand that they are receiving care from the region’s premier health care provider, but it will also bring the organization’s care team together with a unified identity.
The new MaineHealth logo that the health care system will be rolling out later this year. Courtesy of MaineHealth
The name change will largely involve prefacing existing hospital names with “MaineHealth” — such as MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital and MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital — and displaying a universal MaineHealth logo.
Dr. Ross Isacke, who serves as chief medical officer at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington and has also practiced at Maine Medical Center in Portland and Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, said the unified brand will be of great benefit to patients.
“In my role at Stephens, when I would tell a patient that they need to be transferred to Maine Medical Center for a higher level of care, or when we were sending a patient from MMC back home to Stephens, there could be anxiety about leaving the hospital that they know and trust,” Isacke said. “Often, I would flip my badge over and show that I was part of both hospitals to explain that we are all one and the same. Now, with this new approach to our brand, that will be self-evident, and I think patients will better understand how we deliver care.”
Because new names for health care sites must adhere to strict regulations, and therefore require updates to critical systems, the brand update will be made in phases over a five-month period between June and October. The coastal region — made up of hospitals in Belfast, Rockport, Damariscotta and Brunswick — will make the transition in September, as will systemwide services for home health and behavioral health.
Terri Cannan, chief marketing and communications officer with MaineHealth, said that on a practical level, the new approach to branding will save money over time. Currently, MaineHealth operates with more than a dozen brand identities and logos. That means separate branding on everything from lab coats to stationery. It even interferes with money-saving initiatives like combining laundry services across the system and standardizing care team badges.
“Not only will we see direct savings by eliminating duplication with all those different logos, but we will also be enhancing the experience for our patients and better positioning ourselves to attract top talent as a high-quality health care system united in our commitment to our patients and communities,” Cannan said.
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