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Lee Memorial Health Launches $2 Million Rebranding Effort

News  |  By HealthLeaders Media News  
   June 08, 2016

A new name and new logo give the 100-year-old system a brand refresh, but individual hospital names will remain the same.

Lee Memorial Health System, a six-hospital system in Fort Myers, FL, is undergoing a rebranding effort in order to emphasize the organization's multispecialty services in addition to its hospital care.

In advance of its 100th anniversary, the organization now has a new name—Lee Health.

A new logo, featuring a blue/green palm frond, will appear on its hospitals and clinics in October, coinciding with the organization's centennial. A newly designed website will roll out in 2017.

In addition to focusing on the health system's multispecialty services, Lee Health's administration and board decided to move ahead with rebranding because they perceived that the Lee Memorial Health System name had a "cold, impersonal feel," Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Newingham said in a media release.

All told, the rebranding effort is expected to cost $2 million. Newingham broke down the cost of the rebranding effort:

  • $500,000 – $700,000 to redesign the website
  • $700,000 to install new signage
  • $400,000 to advertise the new name

Much of the work will be done using existing department budgets and will not require additional funding from the organization's board.

"One could argue there's really no cost other than speeding up the timing of some of the expenditures," said Lee Health President and CEO Jim Nathan.

"Because we do replace signs on a regular basis, we do need to have a new website and we do marketing and communications materials all the time."

While all hospitals will soon bear the new logo, individual hospital names will remain the same. Health system leadership hopes this will help the public differentiate between Lee Memorial Hospital, a 355-bed facility, and the health system that oversees it.

While the name change coincides with federal regulators recently awarding the hospital one out of five stars for safety and quality, Nathan said there was no correlation between the low rating and the rebranding effort.

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