RMH Healthcare to become Sentara RMH Medical Center

After more than 100 years, RMH Healthcare is changing its name to better denote the high level of care it provides as well as its identity as part of a strong and high-quality health system.

The new name, Sentara RMH Medical Center, retains RMH’s heritage while being consistent with Sentara’s naming structure for its facilities, explained RMH President Jim Krauss.

“Our new hospital name is a celebration of our partnership with Sentara Healthcare and all the benefits that this partnership brings to our patients, our physicians, our staff and our community,” said Krauss. “It also represents the comprehensive nature of RMH services. We have grown to be much more than a hospital in terms of the depth and breadth of programs and services we are able to offer our community.”

RMH merged with Sentara Healthcare in May 2011. As part of its merger agreement with Sentara, the RMH Board agreed to transition the hospital’s name over time.

Hospital officials say the name was chosen after many hours of deliberation and research, including input from RMH leaders, physician leaders and the community.

“This name change positions RMH as part of a quality, innovative, medically advanced, highly technological integrated health system that is now accessible to our community,” Krauss said. “It is also a reflection of the hard work that has been undertaken by our staff, physicians and volunteers to improve the service and care we provide through our partnership with Sentara Healthcare. RMH and Sentara are better together thanks to shared knowledge and implementation of best practices in many areas of care.”

RMH made the decision in mid-2010 to merge with a large, integrated healthcare system because it was vital to ensure the availability of appropriate healthcare services in the community to meet the needs of residents for generations to come.

“The operation of today’s hospital is extremely complex, requiring us to adhere to many changing rules, regulations and standards,” Krauss said. “A large, integrated system has the expertise and extensive resources to manage these complex issues more successfully than does a single independent hospital.”

RMH chose Sentara as a merger partner because of its excellent state and national reputation, its not-for-profit mission and its compatible culture, Krauss said.

“Our name is changing, but our mission to improve health and promote wellbeing remains the same, as does the compassionate, high-quality care delivered by our dedicated staff,” said Krauss. “RMH has a rich and proud history in our community and was built by the people it serves. It is still generously supported by the community. While we remain firmly rooted in our heritage, we are branching out to position ourselves to better care for our community for years to come.”

Sentara RMH Medical Center will become official on Jan. 1, 2014 with signage, internal and external events, advertising and other activities to take place over the next several months.