Nassau Health Corporation Now NuHealth System
The parent company of Nassau University Medical Center has renamed itself in hopes of connecting with its community in a new way. In September, the board of directors for the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC) – which consists of Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility and five Family Health Centers – became the NuHealth System.
“We wanted to make a statement about the relationship we want to have with our patients,” said Arthur Gianelli, CEO and president, during a telephone interview with Anton Community Newspapers, adding that the new name, paired with a new slogan – “Together Through Life” – was selected as a way to convey to patients that “over the continuum of your life, we offer a continuum of care.”
Gianelli said the company found, through its own study, that members of the community have “no public perception” – good or bad – with the name Nassau Health Care Corporation. During the renaming process, the goal was to come up with a name that patients would associate with something good. “Historically, the company hasn’t emphasized the importance of outpatient care, provisional care and a medical home,” Gianelli said, adding that the idea of having a “medical home” is “central to reform; central to what we’re trying to establish.”
With the idea of a “medical home” comes a push for provisional care, consistent medical checkups and maintaining a level of wellness. “We want to establish a relationship with [us as] a service provider to navigate the patient through the healthcare system,” Gianelli said. “We help them manage care on a wellness basis.”
Among NuHealth’s tangible changes are a new Emergency Department and Ambulatory Services Pavillion at the hospital and a new A. Holly Patterson Extended Care facility in Uniondale.
In his “Message from the CEO” on NuHealth System website (http://www.nuhealth.net/), Gianelli states he is redefining the mission of the hospital where “we will serve everyone; we will be ready for anything.” He chose those words, he said, to show that NuHealth is a company that “takes care of people regardless of their ability to pay.”
Said Gianelli, “We’re an integrated healthcare delivery system with strong community connections and a progressive public mission. We want to be the provider of choice for people in the surrounding community, not the last resort.”
Not only a presence in the local Nassau community but throughout New York, NuHealth is academically affiliated with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, SUNY Stony Brook, the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and New York College of Podiatric Medicine, among others.
According to Louis L. Levine, president and CEO of the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, this relationship is “strong and valuable.” Said Levine, “The New York College of Podiatric Medicine has an excellent relationship with Nassau University Medical Center, one that is valued on both sides. We are hopeful that NYCPM can do even more with them in the future.”
