Banner Health’s Hospitals Get Name Change

Use of “Samaritan” and “Lutheran” in names will be discontinued

PHOENIX (April 2, 2003) – Banner Health, the Valley’s largest and most comprehensive health care provider,  is modifying the names of its seven hospitals in the Phoenix area to help consumers more easily recognize and differentiate Banner Health hospitals from the other health care companies doing business in the Valley.

In most cases, facility names are only slightly modified, while, in other cases, hospitals get entirely new names. The name changes, effective immediately, are as follows:

There were several reasons for the name changes, including information from consumer surveys which revealed that consumers prefer to receive medical care from a hospital that is part of a larger network of hospitals.

“By branding all of our hospitals as ‘Banner’ hospitals, consumers will be able to more easily recognize which hospitals in the Valley are part of  the Banner Health family of high quality hospitals,” said Susan Doria, senior vice president of Strategy for Phoenix-based Banner Health. “Like other brand names, we believe consumers will begin to associate the ‘Banner’ name with quality and consistency in service and product.”

The name changes come after a lengthy series of meeting involving patients, consumers, employees and physicians last summer.

As a result of feedback received during those meetings, Banner Health elected to retain the “Samaritan” in Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. It was Banner’s goal to retain the portion of existing names that have the most name equity, and few institutions in the Phoenix area have better name recognition than “Good Samaritan.”

In addition to modifying our facility names, the company has slightly modified its own name as well, dropping the word “System” from Banner Health System to become, simply, Banner Health.

“This name is more descriptive, brief, and consumer-friendly, and it puts the emphasis on health and healing,” Doria said. “That’s really what Banner Health is all about.”

The process of changing out signage on Banner Health’s hospitals has already begun and should be completed at all seven of Banner’s hospitals in the Valley by the end of the year.

Banner Health is the leading provider of hospital services in Arizona, with seven hospitals in the Valley. They are Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Banner Baywood Heart Hospital in Mesa, Banner Mesa Medical Center in Mesa, Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, and Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottsdale. An eighth hospital, Banner Estrella Medical Center, is under construction in the West Valley at 91st Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix.