Ascension rebranding round 2: 6 new health system markets to become 'One Ascension'

Ascension is entering the next phase of its journey to rebrand its hospitals, this time focusing on six new health system markets.

Hospitals and other sites of care in the following markets will soon adopt the name Ascension:

• Texas: Seton in the Austin region and Providence in Waco.
• Gulf Coast: Sacred Heart in the Pensacola, Florida, region and Providence in Mobile, Alabama.
• Binghamton, New York: Lourdes.
• Birmingham, Alabama: St. Vincent’s.
• Jacksonville, Florida: St. Vincent’s.
• Kansas: Via Christi in Wichita and Central Kansas.

RELATED: CMO on the journey to ‘One Ascension’ and a national brand

The system’s goal is to make it clearer and easier for patients to know which hospitals are part of the Ascension brand so they can more easily navigate the healthcare delivery system.

“The adoption of a consistent identity across our systems of care fosters collaboration and ultimately ensures our patients receive the right care in the right setting at the right time through a truly integrated national system,” Anthony R. Tersigni, president and CEO of Ascension, said in an announcement about the rebranding efforts.

Nick Ragone, senior vice president and chief marketing and communication officer, said last year that it will take 18 months to rebrand each state’s hospital system. By the time all its hospitals and health centers sport their new Ascension names, Ragone said the organization will raise its national profile and patients will understand the facility operates under the “One Ascension” brand.

Ascension’s healthcare division operates 2,500 sites of care,  including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities  in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The system has also announced plans to purchase Presence Health, the largest Catholic system in Illinois.

As of 2016, 40% of the largest health systems in the U.S. were faith-based, and 14.5% overall are Catholic systems, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. More than 140 mergers between Catholic and non-Catholic systems have occurred since 1997.

Industry watchers have expressed concern about the expansion of faith-based systems because many many of the hospitals connected to the Catholic Church bancontraceptive procedures or procedures to terminate pregnancy on religious grounds.