PORTLAND — MaineHealth announced March 7, that during 2024 it will roll out a unified identity for its hospitals and other entities across its system, making it easier for patients to understand, find and access their care.

“We are updating our look, logo and names of our hospitals, practices, administrative offices and other locations to further our shared commitment to working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” said Dr. Andrew Mueller, CEO of MaineHealth, in a news release.

Mueller said that, not only would the new approach help patients better understand that they are receiving care from the region’s premier health care provider, but it will also bring the organization’s care team together with a unified identity.

“More and more, meeting our patients’ needs requires us to provide services at multiple locations with a care team working in concert across what had traditionally been separate hospital organizations,” said Mueller. “This new approach will reinforce that we are one team committed to our vision.” 

Mueller also noted that a well-defined brand will help in attracting and retaining talented caregivers, making it easier for them to identify with the organization’s values. That will directly benefit patients and support the organization’s bottom line by further reducing the need for expensive contract labor.

Dr. Ross Isacke, who serves as chief medical officer at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington and has also practiced at Maine Medical Center in Portland and Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, said the unified brand will be of great benefit to patients.

“In my role at Stephens, when I would tell a patient that they need to be transferred to Maine Medical Center for a higher level of care, or when we were sending a patient from MMC back home to Stephens, there could be anxiety about leaving the hospital that they know and trust,” said Isacke. “Often, I would flip my badge over and show that I was part of both hospitals to explain that we are all one and the same. Now, with this new approach to our brand, that will be self-evident, and I think patients will better understand how we deliver care.”

Because new names for health care sites must adhere to strict regulations, and therefore require updates to critical systems, the brand update will be made in phases over a five-month period between June and October.

Locations in MaineHealth’s Southern Region, where, as previously announced, Maine Medical Center in Portland and Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford are coming together under a single hospital license with one medical staff, will make the brand transition in June. The Mountain Region – which includes hospitals in North Conway, N.H., Norway and Farmington - will follow in August. The Coastal Region – made up of hospitals in Belfast, Rockport, Damariscotta and Brunswick - will make the transition in September, as will systemwide services for home health and behavioral health.

Locations will be identified primarily as “MaineHealth” and will all display the same logo across the system, and in most cases local hospitals will retain an identifier consistent with their historical names.

Across the Southern Region, because the hospitals are uniting, the Maine Medical Center name will be used along with the hospital location. So, the locations will be known as follows:

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Biddeford
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Sanford

The hospitals in the Mountain Region in North Conway, N.H., Norway and Farmington will be named as follows, respectively:

MaineHealth Memorial Hospital
MaineHealth Stephens Hospital
MaineHealth Franklin Hospital

In the Coastal Region, the hospitals in Belfast, Rockport, Damariscotta and Brunswick will be named as follows, respectively:

MaineHealth Waldo Hospital
MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital
MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital
MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital

The health care system’s inpatient behavioral health site in Westbrook will be named “MaineHealth Behavioral Health at Spring Harbor.”

The inpatient pediatric hospital at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland will have its own version of the MaineHealth logo and will be called “MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.”

Most other sites across the system will also be renamed with “MaineHealth” as the primary identifier. For instance, a practice in Saco offering pediatric care will be called “MaineHealth Pediatrics Saco.”

Terri Cannan, chief marketing and communications officer with MaineHealth, said that, on a practical level, the new approach to branding will save money over time. Currently, MaineHealth operates with more than a dozen brand identities and logos. That means separate branding on everything from lab coats to stationery. It even interferes with money-saving initiatives like combining laundry services across the system and standardizing care team badges.

“We will get a really good return on this investment,” said Cannan. “Not only will we see direct savings by eliminating duplication with all those different logos, but we will also be enhancing the experience for our patients and better positioning ourselves to attract top talent as a high-quality health care system united in our commitment to our patients and communities.”

*About MaineHealth

MaineHealth is a not-for-profit, integrated health system whose vision is, “Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.” It consists of a Level 1 trauma medical center, eight other licensed hospitals, comprehensive pediatric care services, an extensive behavioral health care network, diagnostic services as well as home health, hospice and senior care services. It employs more than 2,000 physicians and advanced practice professionals working together across more than 250 practice locations. With approximately 23,000 employees, it is a leader in research and clinical education and training and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. MaineHealth hospitals include MaineHealth Behavioral Health at Spring Harbor in Westbrook, MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington, MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta, MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, Biddeford and Sanford, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport, MaineHealth Stephens Hospital in Norway and MaineHealth Waldo Hospital in Belfast. MaineHealth also includes the MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, MaineHealth Care at Home in Saco, the MaineHealth Institute for Research in Scarborough, the MaineHealth Medical Group and MaineHealth NorDx in Scarborough. MaineHealth affiliates include Maine General Health in Augusta and Waterville and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. It is also a significant stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland and a joint venture partner in the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland.

*Reflects upcoming brand transition effective June-September.