METHUEN — Across the Merrimack Valley, signs for three longtime health care institutions are coming down.
On Tuesday, mayors, state legislators, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and other officials gathered outside Holy Family Hospital in Methuen to hear the new name for the medical facility and those for Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Lawrence General Hospital.
All three establishments will operate under the name Merrimack Health with a suffix indicating its location: Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital, Merrimack Health Haverhill Hospital and Merrimack Health Methuen Hospital.
Diana Richardson, interim president and CEO of Merrimack Health, said the new name is not simply a change in branding but the renewal of a commitment and a promise to serve a region that has been hit hard by the financial collapse and mismanagement of Steward Health Care, former owner of Holy Family hospitals.
It has been almost a year since then – Lawrence General absorbed both Holy Family hospitals. The purchase kept the hospitals operational, preventing a potentially devastating loss of services in the region.
“There certainly have been some rough waters behind us,” Richardson said. “Having an opportunity to start fresh as a new organization is also really important.”
While officials did not offer any new information on how services may change with the rebranding, Richardson confirmed that plans are still in place to close medical and surgical beds at Merrimack Health Haverhill and to transform the hospital into an outpatient satellite emergency facility with some inpatient services.
While the hospital is licensed for 59 medical/surgical beds, data from July indicates only eight beds are staffed and in use. The other two Merrimack Health hospitals are at or near capacity, according to the data.
Richardson said the Lawrence and Methuen locations will be able to absorb patients from Haverhill.
With staffing still a critical bottleneck in health care in the Merrimack Valley and beyond, Richardson said she hopes the new names for the three hospitals will help with recruiting employees.
Merrimack Health previously examined, but chose not to, transfer some outpatient services from the Methuen hospital.
On Tuesday, the officials in Methuen pulled a tarp to reveal the new name.
In the new logo, the “r’s” in the word “Merrimack” are shaped to represent the Merrimack River. The name was chosen based on input from employees and stakeholders, according to a hospital press release.
Richardson, who has been with Merrimack Health for five months, said the ceremony and renaming were symbolic of a desire to put the past behind them. She said the rebranding will be a slow rollout, except for the website that went online Tuesday. Most signs have either already been changed or will be soon.
Before joining Merrimack Health, Richardson served as president of Tufts Medical Center. She replaced former CEO Dr. Abha Agrawal, who resigned in February following an internal investigation.
Richardson said despite the challenges faced by staff during Steward’s for-profit ownership of Holy Family, including in the final days before the hospitals were sold, employees’ commitment to the community never wavered.
“They stayed because they cared,” she said.
Lawrence General Hospital’s name was in use for more than a century; the name Holy Family Hospital was used for at least 70 years.
Driscoll reflected on the work that made the unification possible.
“These hospitals and their dedicated health care professionals tirelessly and admirably cared for patients despite facing significant challenges,” she said. “Now, we celebrate uniting these hospitals as Merrimack Health, together delivering the care that these communities deserve and that makes our state proud.”
Those who attended the ceremony included Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard, Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett and Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena.
“We are deeply proud of this moment,” Merrimack Health board Chair Rosemarie Day said. “Our clinicians and other teams of care providers, our leadership and our board remain fully committed to honoring our mission and legacy of caring for patients in the communities where so many of us live and work, now as Merrimack Health.”
Richardson said she did not have the cost for the rebranding.
The nonprofit’s new website is merrimackhealth.org.