Palmetto Health and the Greenville Health System announced on Tuesday that the partnership they formed last year will officially become Prisma Health in 2019.
The organization, which was called SC Health Co. over the past year or so, is the largest health care system in South Carolina, with 1.2 million patients a year, $3.9 billion in annual revenue and some 30,000 employees.
Though the systems originally planned to keep their own brands, it was decided that a single brand for the entire organization was needed. So while the GHS and Palmetto Health brands will be retired, hospitals will keep their core names, officials said. So that means that Palmetto Health Baptist will likely be known as "Prisma Baptist," and the same with Palmetto Health Richland, Parkridge, and Tuomey.
The name change will go into effect early next year.
“What we’re doing now will pave the way for transformative changes to health care in South Carolina,” said Michael C. Riordan, Prisma Health co-CEO. “And through our efforts, we’ve already identified ways to achieve more together by operating as one organization under a single name and brand identity.”
Palmetto Health President John Singerling said that one shared name will make it easier for patients to understand who Prisma Health is and what they do.
The new system will handle only financial and strategic matters and each system will continue to operate independently, officials said.
The partnership was formed to allow the new system to attract new grants, subspecialists and research money, as well as access to services that don’t exist in this area now, officials said.
“We’re poised for great change,” said Prisma Health co-CEO Charles D. Beaman Jr. “With a motivated 30,000-team-member workforce, we’re confident we will continue to make strides to improve clinical quality, access to care and the patient experience for South Carolinians, while addressing the rising cost of health care.”
The name Prisma Health reflects "the diverse, multifaceted nature of the organization and its team," and will distinguish it from other systems, officials said.
Both affiliates will continue to connect teams, tools, technology and academics in an effort to make a lasting impact in the communities they serve, officials said.
“The trusted relationships between patients and their health care providers will not change,” said GHS President Dr. Spence Taylor, “nor will our bedrock commitment to our communities and improving the lives of the people who live there, whether it’s through patient care, academics or clinical research.”
Prisma officials are putting together a plan to manage the name change conversion, which includes signage, printed material and vehicles, so costs will be phased in over the next year or so, officials said.
The last rebranding, which occurred in 2013 when Greenville Hospital System officially became Greenville Health System, cost $5.5 million over three years, officials said at that time.