Atchison Hospital announces today the adoption of a new name to unify multiple locations and service lines as a healthcare system–Amberwell Health. The development of a formal healthcare system strengthens the future of healthcare in Northeast Kansas by growing a network of providers and resources that improve access to care for Northeast Kansas communities and surrounding areas.
Amberwell Health logo for new healthcare system
Amberwell Health will continue to be a not-for-profit organization, locally governed by a board of directors. The current board of directors and leadership team of Atchison Hospital will continue with the same responsibilities under the new name.
The nine-month rebranding project to develop a system name included seven market surveys to help understand the needs and preferences of patients and communities. With amber being the Kansas state gemstone, amber waves of grain being so iconic for the Midwest, and improving the health and wellness of area communities being the vision of the organization, Amberwell Health was chosen as the name that represents both the healthcare organization and the region served.
Beginning October 1st, all locations and services will begin using the new healthcare system name. The Atchison campus–which includes hospital care, clinic care, and other healthcare services–will be called “Amberwell Atchison”. The clinics in Horton, Leavenworth, and Troy will be called “Amberwell Horton Clinic”, “Amberwell Leavenworth Clinic”, and “Amberwell Troy Clinic” respectively.
Growth of a healthcare system
Atchison Hospital received a hospital charter in 1912 and the first hospital building was opened in 1914, located at 1301 North 2nd Street in Atchison, Kansas. In 2010, the current state-of-the-art medical campus located at 800 Ravenhill Drive was built, providing a new location for the Atchison Hospital as well as Atchison Internal Medicine and Family Practice, Atchison Family Medicine, and several specialty care clinics.
With the formation of the Amberwell Health system, the Atchison medical campus will offer all care under one name–Amberwell Atchison–and will continue to provide primary care, inpatient care, specialty care, and a full spectrum of healthcare services.
The Family Medical Center of Troy was opened in 1982 as a primary care clinic sponsored by Atchison Hospital. For nearly 40 years, dedicated providers have served the Troy, Kansas community with excellent primary care. This care will continue at the same location, with the new name of Amberwell Troy Clinic.
In February of 2020, Atchison Hospital opened a clinic in Leavenworth to offer orthopedic care, general surgery, and occupational health services for the Leavenworth community, who had recently lost many medical services with the restructuring of both of their local hospitals. In June of 2020, Atchison Hospital reopened the primary care clinic in Horton, returning medical services to the community after their local hospital was closed the year prior.
The openings of these two new clinics further highlighted the need for a unified name for all the locations of care served by Atchison Hospital, especially those located outside of Atchison. According to surveys of both communities and employees, the name ‘Atchison Hospital’ was not relevant when referring to clinics or locations outside of Atchison and the varying brands of service lines did not connect all of the sites and service lines as one organization.
“Our new name, Amberwell Health, connects all of the communities we serve and helps patients know we are one organization that works together across many locations of care and service lines to strengthen healthcare in Northeast Kansas and surrounding areas,” says Jeff Perry, CEO. “We are incredibly grateful to our Atchison community for allowing us to provide care, creating the foundation for us to expand care for our neighboring communities.”
Brand implementation
Service lines and program names will also be unified under the new healthcare system name, as follows:
- Wilkinson Orthopedics will be called “Amberwell Orthopedic Care”, providing a full spectrum of orthopedic care.
- Business health services previously provided under the Advanced Health Services brand will be provided through Occupational Health Services.
- Sports medicine services previously offered under the Advanced Health Services brand will be continued through Amberwell Orthopedic Care.
- Atchison Hospital Home Health & Hospice will be called “Amberwell Health at Home” and will continue to provide home health services and hospice care wherever the patient calls home.
- The primary care providers of Atchison Internal Medicine and Family Practice and Atchison Family Medicine will now provide care as Amberwell Primary Care providers at Amberwell Atchison.
For more information, please visit amberwellhealth.org.
