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Partner Of Northern Westchester Hospital Plans Name Change

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The North Shore -- LIJ Health System, which includes Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco and Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, announced Monday it will change its name to Northwell Health. The rebranding campaign will begin in 2016.

Michael Dowling is the president and chief executive office of the North Shore -- LIJ Health System, which announced Monday it was changing its name to Northwell Health.

Michael Dowling is the president and chief executive office of the North Shore -- LIJ Health System, which announced Monday it was changing its name to Northwell Health.

Photo Credit: Contributed
North Shore LIJ

North Shore LIJ

Photo Credit: Contributed

"Being highly visible and clearly understood within and beyond the New York metropolitan area requires strong brand recognition," said Michael J. Dowling, president and chief executive officer. of the network, which includes 21 hospitals. "The Northwell Health name is a reflection of our past and a beacon of our future. It's unique, simple and approachable, and better defines who we are and where we are going."

The new Northwell Health name will be the centerpiece of a broad rebranding and marketing campaign that will launch in 2016, beginning a multi-year process to build recognition of the new name and distinguish the organization in a cluttered health care market. As a first step, the health system will begin introducing the new brand to its more than 61,000 employees, 10,000-plus affiliated physicians and other internal audiences, including more than 13,000 nurses.

"At Northern Westchester and Phelps and the others, those are the names that the local people recognize. We don't want to mess around with that." -- Michael Dowling, President and CEO of North Shore -- LIJ Health System

The names of all of the health system’s hospitals will remain intact. The networks’ other hospitals are North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Staten Island University Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y.

Dowling said signs at Northern Westchester and Phelps will remain the same with the addition that they are members of the Northwell group. "At Northern Westchester and Phelps and the others, those are the names that the local people recognize,'' Dowling said. "We don't want to mess around with that."

The new name also reflects a focus on wellness. “We wanted a name that underscores our focus on keeping people well and better managing their health, rather than only treating them when they are sick or injured,’’ Dowling said. “The future of health care is about guiding and engaging consumers in a very different way.”

Earlier this year, the health system began working with branding consultants Monigle and Interbrand to develop a new company name and brand platform. In addition, the marketing communications firm J. Walter Thompson was brought in to develop a broad communications program.

“Leveraging the new Northwell Health name, we will build strong recognition regionally and nationally, with the goal of elevating our reputation among both consumers and medical professionals,” said Ramon Soto, the health system’s chief marketing and communications officer. “We have a powerful story to tell and we believe our new name is the ideal platform to deliver that message."

Since the creation of the North Shore Health System in 1992 and its eventual 1997 merger with LIJ Medical Center that created the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the organization has evolved into a vast clinical, educational and research enterprise. It has the largest private employer in New York State and the 14th-largest health system in the nation, with annual revenues of nearly $8 billion.

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