More than 25 years ago, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital joined to form a new health care system in Boston: Partners HealthCare. The selection of the name Partners — and the associated four-part mission of patient care, research, teaching and community — symbolized our shared collaboration and commitment to all aspects of care delivery.

The commitment that served as the foundation for this name is still true today, as Partners has added other superb hospitals, expanded the range of ways we care for patients and increased the variety and type of systemwide collaboration. Still, one question often arises: Does the Partners name best reflect what the system is now and, just as importantly, what it will be tomorrow?

As part of the Partners 2.0 task force work, a systemwide team comprising hospital leadership and board members investigated this question and recommended that Partners develop a new name and brand for our health care system. After reviewing the work of the task force, Partners board members voted unanimously to change the Partners brand to one that will more closely represent a continued focus on collaboration, building on the strength of the academic medical center brands.

Work has already begun to develop new naming options and to craft a plan that will introduce a new brand to our patients. This work includes efforts to gather opinions from patients, consumers and the 75,000 employees across the Partners system.

Bringing a new brand into the marketplace is a lengthy process that requires a tremendous amount of careful planning and collaboration, which will occur over the coming months. Learn more on PikeNotes, and stay tuned for future updates.
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