New visual identity, strategic alignment and facility names planned for 2013

WINSTON-SALEM – Novant Health today announced a strategic plan to unify all facilities in the system under the umbrella name, Novant Health. In 2013, the system will unite its four-state footprint by executing a strategic branding plan to tie together the multiple, distributed points of care across the region and commits to its patients and communities to make healthcare remarkable.

Formed in 1997, Novant Health has grown from four to 13 acute care facilities, more than 100 outpatient facilities and over 350 physician practice facilities in four states.

"Over the past 15 years, Novant Health has grown into a sizeable regional health system," said Carl Armato, president and CEO of Novant Health. "In 2013, we will formally join our system under one brand to better serve our communities and bring efficiencies to our operations. Together, our employees and physician partners will unify to create an unmatched healthcare experience for our patients."

The strategic branding plan ties to Novant Health's commitment to reinvent the healthcare experience by making it more convenient, easier to access, and more affordable so patients can focus on getting better and staying healthy.

Journey to remarkable healthcare
Over the past several years, Novant Health has initiated a series of strategic steps to transform the patient experience and deliver remarkable care.  Beginning with the Codman Award-winning hand washing campaign in 2005, which focused on the safety of patients and invited them to have a voice in their care, the organization embarked on a concerted effort to create a remarkable patient experience.

Three years later, MRSA infections were down 63%, more than 3,000 hospitals around the world had emulated the program, and patients were clear that they had a voice in their care at Novant Health facilities. Since then, Novant Health has focused on transforming healthcare to create an experience that allows patients to focus on getting better and staying healthy.

More recently, since September 2010, Novant Health facilities have screened all admitted patients for type 2 diabetes. This "search and rescue" program has diagnosed nearly 5,000 people with previously undiagnosed diabetes.

Another step in this strategic plan includes open access for patients. Real-time online appointment scheduling, E-visits, and collaborative patient-clinician care are all part of the unified system strategy.

"We have made significant progress to transform healthcare, but the next, logical step in our journey is to tie our system together," said Armato. "By unifying under the Novant Health brand, we are signaling to our patients and our communities that whether you seek care at a Novant Health facility in North or South Carolina—or Northern Virginia or Georgia—you should expect an unmatched experience including access when and where our patients want it at an affordable price. We want to make healthcare remarkable. That is our promise."

The organization has also implemented employee engagement strategies as a part of the branding plan. In a first ever system-wide employee leader meeting in February, nearly 1,000 Novant Health leaders met in Charlotte, NC to be trained on the strategic plan.

Visual changes, new facility names
Along with the brand launch, the system will adopt a new logo. Signifying the strength of the Novant Health system, the new brand identity will be incorporated into Novant Health facilities throughout 2013.

Additionally, facility names will change to align to the brand strategy. All 13 hospital facilities will adopt the driving brand name, Novant Health, along with a facility locator. A table of the changes follows.

For more information on the strategic changes, visit NovantHealth.org/remarkable. The brand roll-out begins April 17.