Logo reflects affiliation with UnityPoint Health
The Greene County Medical Center board of trustees voted at its Nov. 20 meeting to move forward with an enhanced logo for the medical center. The trustees first discussed this at their 2014 spring retreat. The decision follows other UnityPoint Health rural affiliates, such as Guthrie County and Clarke County, in adding “An affiliate of UnityPoint Health” to their logos.
Board president Jim Schleisman noted, “Our affiliation and partnership with UnityPoint Health, which goes back to 1988, is about providing quality, comprehensive health care. By identifying our affiliation with our logo, we demonstrate to those we serve that the health care needs of our community will be met for decades to come, in part because we have a strong affiliation with UnityPoint Health.”
Rural hospitals around the country are forming affiliations with larger medical facilities in an effort to strengthen the services offered and take advantage of system-wide resources, while at the same time retain local day-to-day control. CEO Carl Behne emphasized at the board meeting that the logo enhancement provides visual proof of both the medical center’s autonomy and the affiliation.
UnityPoint Health is the 13th largest nonprofit health system in the nation, with 17 hospitals throughout Iowa, southern Wisconsin and western Illinois. Fifteen rural community hospitals, similar to Greene County Medical Center, have affiliated themselves with UnityPoint Health. There are more than 280 UnityPoint Clinic locations or affiliated clinics in this three state area. An affiliation with UnityPoint Health is an affiliation with a leader in health care.
Community relations director Carla Offenburger assured the community, “When you see our enhanced logo, you can be confident and proud that we are working with a leader in health care to assure that your care can remain close to home.”
The medical center is on track for its expansion project – which includes a more easily accessible ER and new surgery, outpatient and acute areas, which offer increased privacy and efficiencies. After the expansion is completed in early summer 2015 and service departments are relocated, most of the current acute area and outpatient service areas will be renovated with an early summer 2016 completion date anticipated. This $22.5 million expansion and renovation project began with a groundbreaking in the spring of 2014.
A board vote earlier this year cleared the way for UnityPoint Clinic to open a family practice clinic within the medical center as early as the summer of 2015. Physician and staff recruitment is taking place and is on schedule as planned. UnityPoint Clinic locations across the state offer family care providers and specialists who actively work to provide and keep care in the communities where patients live, aligning and partnering with local agencies and hospitals.
Behne said, “Changes in health care require changes in how we conduct business. Our longtime partnership with UnityPoint Health and our recent decision to strengthen our affiliation is what can assure Greene County residents that the medical center will be here for decades to come. We must stay committed to coordinating the care of our patients in their home, with their primary care provider or specialist and even including a hospital stay if necessary.” He continued, “It all comes down to providing care in our communities for our communities.”
