CommonSpirit Health™ Chosen as Name for New System Being Created by the Alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives® and Dignity Health®

SAN FRANCISCO and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Two leading U.S. health systems – Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health – who announced a Definitive Agreement to combine their health ministries in December 2017, have chosen "CommonSpirit Health" as the name of their new organization. The two systems expect to complete the transaction by the end of 2018.

CommonSpirit Health was chosen because of its strong association with the two systems' missions of service and positive resonance with the diversity of people served. It evokes the strategic vision and aspiration of the new ministry to advance health for all and make a positive change for the people and communities served; a belief that all people deserve access to high quality health and health care; and a passion to serve those who are sick and injured, including those who are most vulnerable.

The new name was selected after a comprehensive review of more than 1,200 names, which were evaluated for their association with faith-based health care, legal considerations, and consumer research. 

Lloyd H. Dean, President/Chief Executive Officer of Dignity Health, stated, "It was important that our name could provide a connection between all people: our employees, physicians, patients, families, and neighbors alike. CommonSpirit does just that."

Kevin E. Lofton, Chief Executive Officer of CHI, said, "We appreciate how the manifestation of the Spirit is woven into so many messages—God's gift of compassion, the calling to heal others, and serving the common good. Each comes together and is reflected in just one powerful word, CommonSpirit."

Among the many reasons for selecting CommonSpirit Health, it was embraced for the following attributes:

• As support for the mission of the new organization to contribute to the "common good" as a core tenet of Catholic social teaching;
• In recognition of the power of a faith-based ministry as a healing force to serve all people in an inclusive and welcoming way;
• As an expression of gratitude for the courage of the women religious who established their health ministries in the face of significant obstacles to meet the most pressing health needs of people and communities; and
• In acknowledgement of providers and employees who hold a shared purpose and unyielding commitment to advance the health of the people and communities served.

With the selection of a new name, the organization will develop a visual identity to convey the story and strength of the new $28.4 billion health care system. Dignity Health and CHI previously announced that the new ministry will follow a "house of brands" strategy, retaining the names of local facilities and services in the communities where they are located.

CHI and Dignity Health signed a definitive agreement to join their ministries on Dec. 7, 2017. Since then, the organizations have been planning integration efforts for the new system. On Oct. 16, the Board of Stewardship Trustees for CommonSpirit Health was selected and announced.

Further information is available at: AdvancingHealthCareTogether.org.

About Catholic Health Initiatives
Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities in the hundreds of sites across the nation where we provide care. One of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems, Englewood, Colo.-based CHI operates in 18 states and comprises 100 hospitals, including two academic health centers; major teaching hospitals and 30 critical-access facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; living communities; and other facilities and services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2018, CHI provided more than $1.14 billion in financial assistance and community benefit for programs and services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Financial assistance and community benefit totaled approximately $2.1 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated operating revenues of $15 billion in fiscal year 2018, has total assets of approximately $20.5 billion.

About Dignity Health
Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health care systems, is a multi-state network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 40 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care centers including neighborhood hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY 2018, Dignity Health provided $2.1 billion in charitable care and services. For more information, please visit our website at DignityHealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Catholic Health Initiatives; Dignity Health