A Florida pediatric hospital's partnership with John Hopkins and resulting name change yields an immediate positive effect on its finances.
The St. Petersburg, FL-based All Children's Hospital officially added "Johns Hopkins" to its name in April, outwardly aligning itself with the organization it has been medically affiliated with since 2011.
Leadership for the now Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital said they decided to go ahead with the name change in order to reap the benefits of an internationally known brand, which they expect will improve everything from recruiting to patient care to brand recognition, the Business Observer reported last week.
"Our name is very well recognized on the west coast of the state and in Florida," hospital board chairman Mark Stroud told the paper. "But Johns Hopkins is a worldwide brand."
To evaluate All Children's ahead of the name change, Johns Hopkins put the 256-bed hospital through several rigorous quality-of-care tests from 2011 through this year.
"The change signifies we met the rigorous standards set by Johns Hopkins Medical Center," said Sylvia Ameen, the hospital's vice president of marketing and communications. "You have to go through a process. It doesn't just happen."
Results
And it appears the name change is already netting results—according to Ameen, a couple from Sarasota, FL, pledged a multimillion-dollar donation when they heard of the Johns Hopkins relationship. The funding will go toward a new CT scanner and other equipment.
"This is a milestone moment," Ameen said. "It's not often a hospital system changes its name, especially to Johns Hopkins."
The name change represents the affiliation between the health systems. The member substitution agreement details a partnership that allows the All Children's board to remain locally controlled, with all assets remaining part of the St. Petersburg facility.
"There's a lot to a name, especially when that name is a world leader in healthcare," the hospital said in a statement when the name change was announced.
"Our new name honors our longstanding tradition of excellence in pediatric care and directly connects us to Johns Hopkins, a globally respected name in healthcare. The timing of our 90th year of service makes this a perfect time to make the announcement."