FROM STAFF REPORTS

BIRMINGHAM – St. Vincent’s Health System will add Ascension to its name as part of a national effort to make it clearer and easier for patients to access the care they need and to navigate their health.
In moving toward a unified name, St. Vincent’s will change its name to Ascension St. Vincent’s and adopt the Ascension logo.
By creating more consistent names for its facilities and services across the country, Ascension will better connect every aspect of care and innovation across its hospitals and other sites of care.
STVHS has been part of Ascension since its founding in 1999.
Ascension is the nation’s leading nonprofit health system, with 2,500 sites of care and 36,000 providers in 22 states and Washington, D.C.
“Working together as part of Ascension has enabled St. Vincent’s to continually expand our care from virtual ‘On Demand’ healthcare to the opening of our newest location in Trussville this December. Our shared name communicates the benefits of our system-wide collaboration and shared best practices. It helps those we serve connect the dots in understanding that the caregivers they know and trust here both benefit from and contribute to best practices and clinical innovation,” said Jason Alexander, ministry market executive and CEO of STVHS. “Adding the Ascension name to our own reflects the strength of being part of this national network.”
Patients will continue to see the doctor they know and trust, but that physician is connected to other experts and specialists across the state and across the country, all dedicated to providing care specific to their individual needs.
Innovations made possible through STVHS’s work as part of Ascension will enable patients and their families to connect with their caregivers when, where and how they need it, as we continue to develop ways to improve communication and care in locations that are convenient and accessible, as well as through phones and computers.
“The patients and families we serve have high expectations for excellent, personalized care delivered easily and conveniently. By creating consistent names across Ascension facilities and services nationwide, we’re making it easier for patients to access the care they need and expanding our efforts to deliver high-quality, affordable care for everyone with special attention to those most in need,” said Nick Ragone, chief marketing and communications officer for Ascension.
STVHS joins Ascension systems in five other states in beginning the move to a unified name, which will take place within the next year. Last September, Ascension’s sites of care in Michigan and Wisconsin became the first to adopt the Ascension name.
In Birmingham, Ascension’s St. Vincent’s Health System operates five hospitals in addition to several healthcare facilities and employs more than 4,800 associates.
Across the region, St. Vincent’s provided more than $57.8 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty in fiscal year 2016.
Serving Birmingham for over 118 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable.
Ascension is the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, operating 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
For more information, visit STVHS.com.