All Mercy hospitals to share same name by April

Published: January 14, 2012

Two Catholic hospitals in Arkansas will be renamed in April.

Mercy Health System, the eighth-largest Catholic health system in the United States, announced last week that it was taking steps to "create a more meaningful and unified identity."

"To that end, the health system has begun a plan to move the facilities in its 100 communities across the region to one name: Mercy," the health system announced Jan. 6.

Mercy in Arkansas

Mercy of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers changed from St. Mary Hospital in 2008

St. John Hospital in Berryville will become Mercy Hospital Berryville Jan. 30

St. Edward Mercy Medical Center will become Mercy Hospital Fort Smith in April

St. Joseph Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs will be known as Mercy Hospital Hot Springs in April

The hospitals will simply be known as Mercy Hospital and the city where they are located. Mercy clinic locations across the state will change to one name as well.

Mercy of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers made the change in 2008 when it transitioned from St. Mary Hospital and moved to its new location. Beginning Jan. 30, St. John Hospital in Berryville will become Mercy Hospital Berryville.

In April, St. Edward Mercy Medical Center will be known as Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and St. Joseph Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs will be known as Mercy Hospital Hot Springs.

"We owe it to the three million patients we serve each year to know us by one name," said Lynn Britton, president and CEO of Mercy. "Adopting the Mercy name is not so much a change as a natural evolution. Our electronic health record has allowed our physicians and medical teams to coordinate care across facilities, communities and even states in ways that were never before possible. It has opened up a whole new world of more convenient and personalized care for our patients."

The health system said the different names have been confusing for patients. For example, when Jarrod Anderson's toddler got sick while they were visiting grandparents in Edmond, Okla., they sought medical help. Understandably, the Andersons, who live in Bentonville, made no connection between their hometown physician at Garrett Goss Clinic and a pediatrician at Mercy Edmond Memorial Clinic in Oklahoma.

"We had no idea that the clinic in Oklahoma was in any way tied to our doctor in northwest Arkansas," said Anderson, a father of three. "And yet, they were both Mercy facilities."

Although the different names proved confusing, the Andersons still benefited because of Mercy's electronic health record. Both doctors in Oklahoma and Arkansas could read the toddler's medical record and could track his care.

"The Mercy name is a tribute to the Sisters of Mercy who founded our ministry and led us to where we are today," said Kim Day, president of Mercy's Arkansas communities. "By adopting the one name that has always bound us in spirit, we will make it easier for the people we serve to recognize we are one Mercy. People across Arkansas will benefit from having their electronic health record available at more than 50 locations across the state."

The new Mercy symbol is a contemporary version of the original cross which Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, adopted for her ministry. The outer extensions of the cross represent a ministry that is diverse but aligned around a common purpose, forming a cross-within-a-cross.

Mercy Health System has 31 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient facilities in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.