Facility now Deaconess Hospital

Deaconess Medical Center is undergoing a subtle name change to reflect its partnership with Rockwood Clinic.

The two health care providers, along with Valley Hospital and Medical Center, have established what they call an integrated health care delivery system under the common corporate ownership of Community Health Systems Inc.

The Spokane group will operate under the Rockwood Health System banner, with Deaconess and Valley simply called Deaconess Hospital and Valley Hospital.

Julie Holland, a Deaconess spokeswoman, said market research showed the Rockwood name as the most recognizable and positive.

Each organization will continue to be run by its own leadership team, ultimately answering to CHS executives.

Rockwood Clinic spokeswoman Jill Fix said new signs and advertising would highlight the name change and attempt to explain the relationship to patients and the Spokane community.

“Our system continues to grow to care for more patients across the Inland Northwest, and we want the community and our customers to know with certainty when they are ‘in’ the system,” Bill Gilbert, chief executive officer of Deaconess Hospital, said in an announcement Wednesday.