Rebrand Reflects Monumental Changes at Regional Health

This month, Rapid City-based Regional Health will officially become Monument Health. The new name comes with a new logo, millions of dollars of new signage for its five hospitals, eight specialty and surgical centers, and 40+ clinics and service centers. It also coincides with a new affiliation with the Mayo Clinic Care Network. 

But the changes at Regional Health did not start with the Monument name. Although the rebranding brings a fresh new look to the organization, Regional’s leaders say it symbolizes an evolution that has been in the works in the healthcare system for several years. 

MED spoke with Monument Health CEO Paulette Davidson, who took the helm in 2018, and Robin Zebroski, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communication, for some perspective on what the shift means for Black Hills patients and for the system’s 4,500 physicians and caregivers

PD: The refreshing of our brand is something our governing board has been considering for some time. They brought the idea to us about a year ago and we have spent the past year conducting a thorough and very collaborative assessment of the idea. We brought in physicians, caregivers, and residents from all across the Black Hills to ask them questions about what they thought of our current brand and to get feedback. There was a unanimous feeling that it was the right time to move forward with the new brand.

MED: What is significant about this time in the organization’s history?

PD: We are different than we were even three years ago. We have recruited more than 200 physicians in the last few years. We have also transitioned to an EMR system, which is changing the way we communicate and the way we do things. We are making significant investments in all of our campuses, including a 270 million dollar project here in Rapid City that is just finishing up. The message that we want to send within our organizations that we’re different and we’re changing. 

RZ: We have approached this thoughtfully because we want to be fiscally responsible. One of the largest expenses in a rebrand like this is physical signage throughout the organization. So the timing of our construction aligns very well. Our largest campus is where we have major construction going on. So the money for new signs on the south side of that campus was already in the budget. It will take some time to update the brand throughout the system. We will approach it as our budget allows. 

MED: Why “Monument Health”? Where did the name come from?

PD: That is a direct result of the feedback we got over the past year. People want permanence, credibility, and a name they can trust. We also wanted a brand that was going to resonate with our workforce. Like other organizations, workforce is going to be a major challenge for us in the future. We are recruiting talented people, not just regionally, but nationally. When they Google ‘Regional Health’, the lack of identity was a problem. Monument Health is a nod to the beautiful Black Hills and history and legacy. But it is also about the future; monuments stand firm regardless of the weather or the challenges. 

MED: How did the affiliation as part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network come about? Is it significant that it is happening at the same time as the rebranding?

PD: All the feedback we got led us to say, while we are becoming Monument Health, what are the areas that we need to look at to ensure that we have high performance? We could see there are many people in South Dakota who leave home and go to Mayo Clinic for care. We decided that we could make it easier for people by bringing that expertise here. Hopefully, this gives them peace of mind without the burden of travelling to Rochester.

MED: What did the process of joining the Network involve?

PD: First, we went there and met with them. Then they came here. It was clear that, before we started any in depth conversation, that we needed our physicians here to be in support of this. So Mayo met with our physician leaders and our leaders recommended we move forward with the discussion. Joining the Network was a complex process during which they assessed everything about our organizations - our culture, patient outcomes, financial viability, etc. It was really the high performance and high quality of our current teams that led the Mayo Clinic board to unanimously approve this relationship.

MED: How will this clinical collaboration work, on a practical level?

RZ: As part of the Epic implementation, the protocols that Mayo Clinic physicians follow will be available to our providers right inside the electronic medical record system. If they want to know how a Mayo doctor would approach these same symptoms, they can use a ‘What Would Mayo Do?’ tool within Epic. It is a great backbone for our physicians to be able to use these high quality resources. Monument Health doctors can also consult directly with Mayo specialists on their patients’ behalf whenever they feel it will benefit their care.

PD: Monument Health is located in Western South Dakota and we serve Nebraska, Wyoming and North Dakota. We are not in Chicago or New York or a large academic health science center. But we have physicians who have trained in those kinds of places. For them to have that world-renowned clinical knowledge and expertise available when they are talking to patients or recommending diagnostic or treatment plans not only improves their ability to care for people but will improve our ability to retain well-trained physicians. 

MED: And how has the reaction been among providers to all these changes?

RZ: We have a caregiver going around doing forums with our other caregivers, just to answer questions and get feedback. One of the doctors attending a forum said “Let me get this straight...We have Mayo Clinic’s stamp of approval but we are strong enough to be an independent health system so we can make decisions that are in the best interests of our local area?” That pretty much sums it up. 

PD: At the end of the day, peace of mind for our families and people in communities around the Black Hills is a tremendous asset. Monument Health is independent, private, and not-for-profit. We make our decisions here. Our governing board understands the needs of this community and this keeps them open-minded. I don’t think that will ever change. 

About the Logo

The M-shaped, five-diamond logo represents Monument Health’s five priorities:

  *   Deliver high-quality care

  *   Provide a caring experience

  *   Be a great place to work

  *   Impact our communities

  *   Be here for generations to come

The five diamonds are in the shape of an “M” for Monument. The three filled-in center diamonds represent Monument Health’s vision: It starts with heart. Diamonds signify transformation.