Regional Health rebranded as Monument Health

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
In January, Regional Health officially became Monument Health in a rebranding that was originally announced in November and at the same time joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Although the name of the local clinic has changed with the rebranding, local doctor Lanny Reimer M.D., said the change to Monument will not make an impact locally. 
 “I would say in my opinion the change to Monument probably won’t affect anything locally,” Reimer said. “We are still under the same ownership in Rapid City.” 
What will affect patients and service locally, Reimer said, is the affiliation with the Mayo Clinic. 
“For us locally, once we get established onto this care network then even from here we can write up a short summary and get a consultation from the Mayo Clinic. This is something we haven’t had before and that I haven’t done yet, but I am looking forward to,” Reimer said. 
Along with the local benefit, Reimer said that physicians in the hospitals in Rapid City would have easier access to consultations with Mayo Clinic physicians for inpatients. 
“This is a network that helps doctors… Our clinic is owned by Monument but this really doesn’t change anything about what we have. What it has helped us with is computer assistance and recruiting,” Reimer said. “Even though our hospital (Weston County Health Services) is locally owned, Monument helps them with buying groups and computer records systems. It really is very helpful to have the same network for the clinic, the hospital and in Rapid. It helps with patient care.” 
According to a press release dated Jan. 16, the rebranding affected all of the nonprofit health care system’s hospitals, clinics and healthcare centers in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, including the local clinic. 
“The new name and five-diamond M-shaped logo are the result of months of research, focus groups and discussions with community leaders,” the release says. “The Monument Health name is less generic and better reflects the health system that includes five hospitals, eight specialty and surgical centers and more than 40 medical clinics and health care services centers.”
In addition to the name change, the release states that Monument Health became a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. This network is a select group of independent health systems. 
“Monument Health doctors can connect directly with Mayo Clinic doctors when they think it will be helpful to their patients,” the release says. “They can also access the latest research, diagnostic and treatment resources. The clinical resources available to our physicians include: AskMayoExpert, eConsults, eBoards and Health Care Consulting.”