Faced with an identity crisis, Palm Beaches Medical Center changed its name on Wednesday to Columbia Hospital – a name closely linked to the hospital’s owner, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.
“When I came here a year ago, this was a hospital in transition, and its image in the community ranged from neutral to negative,” said Michael Fencel, the chief executive officer.
“Now, a great deal of enthusiasm and confidence has been restored,” Fencel said. “We no longer are going to be a third-choice hospital in West Palm Beach. We have a premier location and quality services that are attractive to managed care plans.”
Fencel was referring to competition from St. Mary’s Hospital, down the block on 45th Street, and Good Samaritan Medical Center, about two miles to the south. Those two hospitals are merging.
On Wednesday, the mood at Columbia was festive as hospital employees, volunteers and dignitaries lunched under a large white tent in front of the hospital, which is a stone’s throw from Interstate 95.
And as the Dixieland Dudes played, vocalist Jilian Gray sang her rendition of Our Love Is Here To Stay, changing a key lyric to “Our name is here to stay.”
With 750 employees, Columbia Hospital has had a bumpy road since its inception in September 1975 as Community Hospital of the Palm Beaches. Humana bought it in January 1978 and sent many of its health maintenance organization patients there.
In February 1993, Humana’s board of directors separated hospital operations from its health plans, and company-owned hospitals were unified under Galen Health Care. As part of the Galen system, Community Hospital became Palm Beaches Medical Center.
But that name confused patients and providers because of a hospital just west of Lake Worth, Palm Beach Regional Hospital. To eliminate confusion, and to promote its affiliation with a company that operates 195 hospitals, the Columbia name was selected.
The company is expected to grow even more soon. Columbia/HCA Healthcare has proposed acquiring HealthTrust, and shareholders of both companies will vote on the plan late next month. That merger would form a chain of 311 hospitals with about $15 billion in annual revenue.
Columbia Hospital plans to expand services by opening a $2 million, eight-bed obstetrics unit in November, Fencel said.
“Having obstetrics makes the hospital much more attractive to managed care plans,” he said. “From a business standpoint, to be viable and to continue our mission, we have to be in the obstetrics market.”
The hospital also has concentrated on psychiatric services, home health services and a center for those with wounds that will not heal, such as those that afflict diabetics.
