“This is a new beginning. … It’s a new start.”
That’s what Jordan Voigt, MercyOne Eastern Iowa Division president, said Wednesday, Oct. 2, as he helped usher in a big change for the Davenport-based Genesis Health System. The health system has a new name – MercyOne Genesis.
“It’s a great day. … We’re looking forward to the future,” said Mr. Voigt, during a brief ceremony on Wednesday in the newly renamed MercyOne Genesis Davenport Medical Center (formerly Genesis East) front lobby. About 30 people – mostly medical center workers – attended the news conference.
It was one of several events held across the region as the health system announced the new name and brand change. Genesis joined MercyOne, an Iowa-based system of health services, on March 1, 2023. The MercyOne Genesis name and brand reflect MercyOne’s network of care in Iowa and surrounding regions while preserving the strong Genesis brand and its 155-year legacy in the Quad Cities area market.
“It’s not just exciting, it’s historic,” MercyOne President and CEO Bob Ritz said during Wednesday’s events.
He added that the name change also reflects a message of unity between MercyOne and Genesis. “We reflect oneness in everything we do,” he said.
All Genesis hospitals and care sites will adopt the new MercyOne Genesis name, along with a facility locator. New exterior and interior signage will be installed at more than 150 MercyOne Genesis locations over the next several months, weather permitting, and into 2025.
The MercyOne Genesis name and logo also will appear in advertising, stationery, forms, social media and websites.
The new name and logo were seen almost everywhere on Wednesday. Light green T-shirts with the name and logo “Stronger together as ONE” and white drink mugs were given out to hospital workers. Cake, cupcakes and drinks were also served in the lobby as part of the name change celebration.
“We joined MercyOne 17 months ago to leverage the skill, talent and scale of national and regional resources while also keeping a local presence for our Quad-Cities region,” said Mr. Voigt in a news release handed out before Wednesday’s events. “Our new name and brand, MercyOne Genesis, signify these efforts.”
On Wednesday, he also said many people in the community will soon start to see the new name on signs. For instance, signs were recently changed at the MercyOne Genesis Bettendorf Family Medicine & Laboratory, formerly named Genesis Health Group, Family Practice at Genesis HealthPlex, Bettendorf.
More than 700 signs on area health care facilities will be changed in the next two months or so.
“This integration shares a very special legacy. The Genesis West Campus is the site where the Sisters of Mercy established the first Iowa hospital in 1869. One could say this is a reunion of missions,” Mr. Ritz said in a statement before Wednesday’s events.
“Genesis is a special addition to our MercyOne family, with its quality clinical care and amazing people. Together, we are stronger as we shape a framework to enhance access to personalized, convenient health care across Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois,” he added. “We are excited to move forward as one larger system of health services.”
The blue Genesis logo and starburst will change to the green MercyOne logo with a cross – signifying a heritage grounded in faith. MercyOne and Genesis have shared beginnings, both founded by the Sisters of Mercy.
The Genesis Health System name and brand was born in 1994, with the consolidation of St. Luke’s and Mercy hospitals in Davenport.
MercyOne is the largest system of health services in Iowa and surrounding regions, with nearly 23,000 colleagues and more than 2,000 physicians and clinicians.
