Come January of 2019, there will be a new player in Lewis County healthcare—one that’s been around since the 1930s. “How can it be a “new player” yet be 81-years old at the same time?” That’s a fair question and one that is easy to answer.
Morton General Hospital, Randle Clinic and Riffe Medical Center will soon be working under the parent name, or umbrella, of “Arbor Health.”
The hospital board of commissioners approved the creation of the parent name for the three service locations back in April but intentionally extended the actual go-live until January 2019. Soon after the first of the year, all three locations will work under the umbrella name of “Arbor Health,” followed by the individual locations’ names:
- Arbor Health, Morton Hospital
- Arbor Health, Mossyrock Clinic
- Arbor Health, Randle Clinic
This decision was a long time in coming, stemming from the board’s three-year strategic plan created in 2016. This plan, essentially a steering model for the organization, laid out three specific directives to be completed between 2017 and 2019.
One of these directives stated, “Engage staff to assure that we operate with a single voice and a shared culture every touch, every time, and that the district’s services are viewed as a single entity—not as a separate clinic and hospital.” That was a tall order. After all, the clinics and hospital are in different towns, the buildings are certainly not similar in appearance and each has its own name and its own logo.
A marketing committee was created to take on this board directive with representatives from across the hospital, both clinics, a board member and a hospital foundation member. Then over a period of seven months, the group deliberated on how the organization could create a united front in the community while:
- Still having individual identifiers for the geographic locations
- Standing out in the crowd of other health care providers’ typical blue and green logos
- Visually paying tribute to our timber history and surrounding communities
The end result was the committee’s recommendation that the board adopt a parent name to align the two clinics and hospital. “Arbor Health” was selected because:
- An arbor is a canopy formed by trees
- An arbor is also the hub of a round saw, as the hospital and clinics are the hub of their communities
- There is clear connection to the timber industry and area environment
Out of loyalty to the staff, the decision was made to first notify their employees prior to announcing the planned change within the community. CEO Leianne Everett held a series of eight staff meetings in early May. The months of June, July and August were slated for community meetings for Everett to present to a wide variety of groups and organizations to include city council meetings, school board meetings, senior centers and more.
So, come January, when you see the “new healthcare provider” in Lewis County, you’ll know that as new as the name is, the organization has a long-running history.
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