The same doctors and nurses will treat patients. The same staff will greet people at LincolnHealth Hospital and Lincoln Medical Partners practices, but over the next year, the name of the parent corporation of LincolnHealth, Lincoln Medical Partners, Cove’s Edge and St. Andrews Village will change.

Lincoln County Healthcare, which was created as the parent corporation of Miles Memorial Hospital and St. Andrews Hospital in 2008, will be renamed LincolnHealth Group in the spring of 2016 (for legal purposes) but will be commonly known as LincolnHealth. This will simplify a naming structure that many have found confusing. Going forward, you will see the name “LincolnHealth” referring to all of our activities.

Lincoln County Healthcare President James Donovan said the decision follows a series of community forums in which people said they considered the name structure of the corporation confusing. Specifically, there was confusion between LincolnHealth (the licensed hospital) and Lincoln County Healthcare (the parent organization).

Donovan said the change is a simple but important move that the board of trustees could make to respond to community feedback as the healthcare system focuses on other community goals, including making care more accessible and affordable.

“Simplifying our name will create more clarity in all interactions with patients, residents, their families and the community. We want everyone in Lincoln County to know who we are, what we do and where we do it. This clarity is very important to building and maintaining relationships that are central to our ability to continue to provide the very best in care into the future,” said Donovan.

“The three Leapfrog Awards and the many other quality awards and recognition we have received over those years is testament to the focus and hard work of everybody in our organization in providing the best care possible,” said Donovan.

“At the same time, we have worked with a diverse group of partners to expand services that can improve the health of our community, through efforts like the LincolnHealth Wound Care Center and the Coulombe Center,” he said.

Donovan said the small rural healthcare system will continue to innovate as it works to control costs and improve the health of its community.

Change is both inevitable and necessary in the current challenging healthcare environment, said Donovan, but the board and leadership of LincolnHealth is committed to listening to the community and making its decision making process as open and transparent as possible.