North Shore-LIJ Health System to Change Name to 'Northwell Health'

The Board of Trustees at North Shore-LIJ Health System unanimously decided to change the health care provider’s name to Northwell Health, the enterprise announced Monday.

This name change is simpler and better defines the network of 21-hospitals in New York, said Michael J. Dowling, the network’s president and chief executive officer.

Board chair Mark L. Claster said the name change will not confine the regional health care provider geographically, especially considering the hospitals cover areas beyond Long Island.

“Being highly visible and clearly understood within and beyond the New York metropolitan area requires strong brand recognition,” Dowling said in a press release. “The Northwell Health name is a reflection of our past and a beacon of our future.”

Despite this change, some hospitals will keep their names due to their strong community history, including:

• North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset
• Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park
• Staten Island University Hospital
• Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan
• Southside Hospital in Bay Shore
• Huntington Hospital
• Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow
• Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco

The North Shore-LIJ Health System got its name 18 years ago from the 1997 merger of the North Shore Health System and the Long island Jewish Medical Center. Since then, it has become the largest private in employer in New York and the No. 14 largest health system in the nation.

The name charge and rebranding campaign will launch in 2016 to help bring recognition to the new name.

“Leveraging the new Northwell Health name, we will build strong recognition regionally and nationally, with the goal of elevating our reputation among both consumers and medical professionals,” Ramon Soto, the health system’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in a press release. “We have a powerful story to tell and we believe our new name is the ideal platform to deliver that message.”