Hospital group adopts new name

Evanston Northwestern Healthcare unveiled a new name today.

As expected, with the switch of the hospital chain's affiliation from Northwestern University to the University of Chicago, "Northwestern" is gone from the new name. But "Evanston" fell by the wayside as well.

The new moniker is NorthShore University HealthSystem.

"During the past dozen years, we have grown substantially from being Evanston Hospital to becoming an integrated healthcare delivery system that now constitutes a broad geographic reach across the greater North Shore," said CEO Mark Neaman.

"We have built on our rich heritage so well and grown so rapidly, that frankly we have just outgrown our name," he said in a news release.

The release says "NorthShore" evokes "prestige, quality and a favorable destination."

NorthShore has annual revenues of $1.5 billion and a staff of more than 8,000. The system includes three Hospitals – Evanston Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital and Highland Park Hospital. A fourth, Skokie-based Rush North Shore Hospital, is to be added in January 2009.