As of Jan. 1, Great Neck, N.Y.-based North Shore-LIJ Health System will officially rebrand itself as Northwell Health.
The health system, which was formed 18 years ago through the merger of North Shore Health System and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, announced the plan to change its name in September. However, North Shore-LIJ began its rebranding process eight years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The main driver of the decision to change the system's name was to remove its regional identification. The rebranding process produced 600 possible new names, with finalists including Dedication Health and Laudica Health, according to the report. North Shore-LIJ enlisted marketing consultants and focus groups to help create the new name and conduct a "disaster check" to ensure the names didn't conceal different meanings.
"You check the Urban Dictionary, to see if there's something you didn't really know," said Ramon Soto, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at North Shore-LIJ, according to the report. Mr. Soto led the marketing and rebranding campaign.
The system's hospitals will retain their original names, but incorporate the Northwell branding, which includes a new multicolored logo. For instance, Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City will become Lenox Hill Hospital Northwell Health.
North Shore-LIJ will invest tens of millions of dollars to rebrand its infrastructure, including new signs for its buildings and ambulances. It plans to spend more than $12 million in 2016 on advertising to promote its new brand, Mr. Soto told WSJ.