As we live in the time between the Garden and our Savior’s return, the promise of His Advent, the restoration of wholeness, is what inspires our mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ. Our Seventh-day Adventist heritage of whole health began in 1866 with a bold and radical innovation: sanitariums. They were the first institution to recognize the benefits of clean water, a plant-based diet, sunshine, fresh air, exercise and adequate rest.
The collaboration and partnership that makes up the AMITA hospitals and related services are critical to Adventist Health System as we strive to deliver on our mission to the markets within the Lake Union. So, it is important that we share with you that we have initiated a transformation that will include a new name for our corporate entity and all our wholly owned facilities. Beginning in 2019, our name will change to AdventHealth. The naming will not affect the markets where we operate under the AMITA brand name. That said, we were pleased to have representatives from the AMITA markets present at our recent announcement to celebrate with our team.
While Christ walked this earth, He did not just “band aid” people’s problems or accept the status quo. He treated each person with compassion and helped them feel whole, no matter their status or background. This example of treating each person as a child of God with infinite value is something I believe can transform our fragmented health care industry.
Our vision requires us to fundamentally transform the way we deliver health care. That means getting closer to our consumer and staying connected to them. It means improving the quality of care we provide. It means developing a connected network of services that meets consumers’ needs in new and innovative ways. It means finding ways to lower the cost of care to those we serve.
This transformation will allow us to provide a world-class care experience that is comprehensive, connected and easy to navigate while empowering us more than ever to provide care as a team and amplify the ministry of Christ’s love and healing centered around His earthly ministry and, ultimately, His Advent. To that end, in January 2019, we will become AdventHealth. That is how consumers will recognize us across our wholly owned hospitals, physician practices, outpatient facilities and communities.
One of the ways we are doing this in the AMITA markets is in making spiritual health a much bigger part of our outpatient care experience through our new Clinical Mission Integration program, which launched this year.
We also are working to bring care navigation and new digital apps to the consumer, which will keep us connected and continue to help us stop discharging people. All of this work will help us improve all we do in every market we serve. I am most encouraged by our partnerships through the AMITA relationship and know that together we will find new ways to better care for the people and the communities we serve.
AMITA Health is one of the largest healthcare networks in Illinois, and includes nine hospitals, eight immediate care centers and a total of 3,500 physicians providing a wide range of care and services.
