The one constant in healthcare is that it is always changing. This is as
true at Catawba Valley Medical Center as anywhere else in the industry,
and I am pleased to announce that we are preparing to undergo another
change – our brand name.
The hospital began as Catawba Memorial Hospital. The name fit our hospital
well, as we were primarily an acute care facility serving Catawba County
with just one location. But everyone knew that we were involved in something
important to our community, and were excited about the possibilities for
our hospital. In time, we started to grow and began broadening the concept
of the organization beyond just the location on Fairgrove Church Road.
In 2001, the name was changed to Catawba Valley Medical Center and we
began adding primary care medical practices.
And the organization did not stop expanding there. The foresight of the
Board of Trustees and the support of the Catawba Medical Foundation helped
further our mission and allowed us to aggressively expand to meet not
only the current but the anticipated needs of the area.
Because of this unprecedented growth, we continue to evolve. Effective
this month, our organization will begin using the brand name Catawba Valley
Health System which is comprised of Catawba Valley Medical Center, Catawba
Valley Medical Group and Catawba Medical Foundation. This new branding
acknowledges that we are a comprehensive healthcare system composed of
not only a medical center, but also a thriving medical group and foundation.
This new branding also acknowledges that we have grown to the point that
in 2017 we had 11,612 hospital admissions, more than 60,000 emergency
department visits, over 11,000 operating room procedures. And probably
most astonishing, our 77 healthcare providers oversaw a little over 240,000
outpatient visits in one of our 25 locations throughout Catawba County.
The creation of our primary care network has significantly facilitated
our ability to meet the needs of our community as patients can now can
go to a Catawba Valley Medical Group site in their own neighborhood whenever
they need a primary care provider or a specialist for things such as Cardiology,
Pulmonology, Psychiatry and Vascular Surgery. We also have two urgent
care locations for those unexpected situations allowing many families
to avoid a trip to the emergency department.
What all of this shows is that we are no longer a single facility that
arose from a vacant field some 50 years ago. We are now truly Catawba
Valley Health System with primary and specialty care providers, an acute
care facility and the Catawba Medical Foundation. We often fail to recognize
our foundation which specifically addresses the fundraising needed for
our continued expansion, and provides on-going support that allows us
to deliver uncompensated care at a cost of almost $10.5 million annually
for those who are unable to otherwise obtain quality healthcare.
You will see the change in things such as letterhead, signage and other
visible indications. It won’t be a sudden change, but over the next
few weeks you’ll likely start to take notice. We are proud that
we are continuing to grow and that we can continue to make invaluable
services available to our community and would invite you to point out
to those who refer to us as “Catawba Valley Medical Center”
(or even “Catawba Memorial Hospital” for a few) that we have
changed and are growing every day.