For over 25 years, Partners HealthCare has stood as a beacon of integrated healthcare in Boston, born from the union of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The very name “Partners” was chosen to embody a collaborative spirit and a four-part mission encompassing patient care, research, teaching, and community engagement. This commitment to comprehensive care delivery has been the bedrock of our system, even as we’ve grown to include more esteemed hospitals and broadened our patient care approaches through increased system-wide collaboration.
However, as Partners HealthCare has evolved, a crucial question has emerged: Does the “Partners” name still accurately reflect our identity today and, more importantly, our aspirations for the future? This pivotal question was thoroughly examined by the Partners 2.0 task force, a dedicated team comprising hospital leadership and board members. Their investigation led to a clear recommendation: to develop a new name and brand for our healthcare system. Following careful consideration of the task force’s findings, Partners board members unanimously agreed to embark on a rebranding journey. This transition aims to create a brand that more effectively communicates our ongoing commitment to collaboration and leverages the robust reputations of our academic medical center brands.
The process of developing new naming options and crafting a comprehensive plan to introduce our refreshed brand to our patients is already underway. A vital component of this process is gathering valuable input from our patients, consumers, and our extensive network of 75,000 employees across the system. Introducing a new brand to the marketplace is a significant undertaking, requiring meticulous planning and system-wide collaboration. This work will unfold over the coming months, and we are committed to keeping all stakeholders informed as we progress.
Understanding the Rebranding Initiative
Rebranding is more than just a change of name and logo; it’s a strategic evolution of our promise to the healthcare marketplace. For Partners HealthCare, this rebranding initiative underscores our commitment to operate as a unified, integrated system. This strategic shift is driven by the evolution of Partners HealthCare over the past 25 years, alongside changing consumer expectations and a dynamic competitive landscape. Aligned with our current system-wide strategic planning and our renewed emphasis on patient experience, now is the opportune moment for this brand evolution. Our objective is to forge a brand, including a name, that truly conveys the depth, breadth, and interconnectedness of our expertise and our long-standing reputation as a healthcare leader.
While the precise costs associated with this system rebranding are still being carefully evaluated, we are committed to a responsible and phased approach. A comprehensive rebranding plan will consider various scenarios and associated cost implications, ensuring a strategic and financially sound transition. Rebranding timelines can vary, potentially spanning months or even years, depending on the scope of work and responsible cost management strategies.
Extensive patient research has provided valuable insights, demonstrating a clear preference for healthcare systems and indicating that the perceived value of our hospitals increases when associated with a strong system brand. Furthermore, research suggests that a well-executed new brand has the potential to resonate even more powerfully than our current one. We are fortunate to possess some of the most respected and trusted healthcare brands within our portfolio. By leveraging these brands to more effectively articulate what our system represents and connecting them across all facets of our organization, we can achieve greater clarity in our identity and value proposition.
This rebranding initiative reflects and will further enhance the collaborative spirit already thriving within Partners HealthCare. Beyond essential system-wide functions like finance and IT, tangible examples of enhanced collaboration are evident throughout our system. For instance, our Academic Medical Center (AMC) pathology and radiology departments are actively developing shared solutions to optimize information management and elevate patient treatment protocols. These efforts complement other recent system-wide initiatives, such as the deployment of a common Electronic Health Record (EPIC) system, Population Health Management programs, the establishment of the Mass General Cancer Center at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and the deepening integration between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. These are just a few examples of how Partners HealthCare is continually strengthening its internal partnerships to deliver exceptional care.
This rebranding is a strategic step forward for Partners HealthCare, signifying our evolution and reaffirming our dedication to providing world-class healthcare through collaboration and innovation. We look forward to sharing further updates on this exciting journey as we continue to shape the future of healthcare together.
