Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve been hearing that this is a “branding effort.” What is a brand?

A brand is what a person thinks of or feels about a product, place, service, person, or organization. A brand encompasses everything the public thinks about your offering – both factual (e.g. our colors are blue and orange) and emotional (e.g. our staff are heroes). It is bigger than a name or a logo or a single hospital; it is the collective feeling we have about those things based on our direct experiences with them. A brand is the sum total of everything people think and feel about who we are and the service we provide.

What is the new name and why was it selected?

Our new name is Kaweah Health. Since 1961, our organization has existed under the names Kaweah Health Hospital District, and later Kaweah Health Health Care District. Since our founding, Kaweah Health has evolved from a stand-alone, local hospital providing health care to Visalia and surrounding communities to becoming one of Central California’s best integrated healthcare systems, leading others by enhancing existing services and passionately pursuing the future in healthcare. The name, Kaweah Health, was selected to:

• Unite and represent the entirety of our service lines, programs, and locations;
• Clearly identify us as a unified, unique, regional entity and California healthcare system; and,
• Enable consistency in messaging and education, making navigating our healthcare system easier for our patients, team, and community.

Why is the name change necessary?

The world around us is rapidly changing, and to make a difference, we have to be different. We are not the same organization we were 60, 30, or even 10 years ago, and as we continue on our journey to becoming a world-class healthcare provider, we will focus more on health, not just healthcare. We are modernizing our brand and changing our name to show the world that we are innovative, confident, compassionate, and progressive – and as a symbol of who we are today, Kaweah Health has evolved to become Kaweah Health.

What was the process for developing this? Who was involved?

Kaweah Health is the culmination of many conversations and extensive research with our employees, medical staff, board of directors, community advisory committees, and the public going back more than 10 years. The rebranding effort gained momentum in 2018, while we were discussing our mission and vision statements, a community advisory committee first made the suggestion to change our name. The committee did not believe our previous identity as Kaweah Health Health Care District was modern, innovative, or representative of the healthcare system we are today. To continue the conversation and gather more input, we hosted focus groups comprised of our medical staff, employees, board of directors, and community advisory committees and found the vast majority of stakeholders agreed with the need to change our name. After additional thoughtful contemplation and discussion about more than 60 years of brand recognition and pride in the name Kaweah, the decision was made to retain the best of Kaweah Health Health Care District, which is simply, Kaweah Health.

How much money is being spent on the new brand, and why?

The rebranding effort involves the investment in capital items (primarily signs) as well as operating expenses. We have budgeted a capital investment of $575,000 in fiscal year 2021, which represents 3.6% of our $16,000,000 annual capital budget. We expect that these signs will last us for many years. We have also budgeted $110,000 in rebranding operating expenses for fiscal year 2021, or 0.01425% of our annual operating budget of $772,000,000. The $685,000 in total rebranding costs are onetime expenses and will see us through at least the next 20-40 years. This investment is as vital to securing our future as are our other efforts to grow our service lines. Service line growth helps us protect jobs, avoid cutbacks, and expand access to care in the community. The new brand will unite and represent the entirety of our service lines, programs, and locations under a consistent name and brand– and by doing so, will greatly increase public awareness of our integrated healthcare system, establish a more prominent top-of-mind presence with consumers, and increase industry credibility, all of which will lead to increased revenue for decades to come.

We have experienced furloughs, layoffs, and our matching retirement plans will not be funded in Fiscal Year 2021, ending June 30, 2021. Wouldn’t you save jobs and benefits by avoiding the costs associated with this rebrand?

Initially, 70 of our more than 5,000 employees experienced a reduction in workforce as a result of restructures, downsizing, and closing services. We were able to offer positions to 44 of those individuals, so all together out of 5,100 employees, 26 experienced a reduction in workforce since April 2020. Additionally, we are thrilled to confirm that our matching retirement plans have been fully reinstated in Fiscal Year 2022, which begins July 1, 2021.

Even still, cutbacks and layoffs are heartbreaking experiences for any organization, most especially an organization like ours whose mission it is to serve the community, and we understand why it may be concerning to hear about the branding effort after the year we have endured. Please know that the decision to move forward with this rebrand was made after years of thoughtful discussion and intense review with our employees, medical staff, Board of Directors, community advisory committees, and Valley residents.

We wholeheartedly believe that rebranding is critical for us to contend in the rapidly changing and competitive health care environment. This investment in our future is necessary for us to succeed as a place of healing and an opportunity for us to be proactive about our future. We have had to make difficult decisions over the last year with respect to budgets and staffing and the new brand can help protect jobs and avoid cutbacks by differentiating us in the marketplace. Doing so will attract more patients to our care centers, increase revenue, and create an impactful competitive edge for us in the region. We strongly believe that growth is the best way to restore our organization’s financial strength, and that this rebranding will contribute directly to that growth.

In an organization the size of ours, much like investing in technology or equipment, the new brand is a necessary expenditure in order to effectively communicate who we are as we move into the future. Throughout this entire process, we have made – and will continue to make – every effort to ensure we are being good stewards of our resources and only spending what is absolutely necessary.

Have we tried offsetting branding expenses in other ways?

Yes! In an effort to be responsible stewards of this investment in our future, we have saved costs by developing a vast majority of the new brand assets in-house, utilizing the creativity and expertise of our own Marketing and Communications Department. The logo, messaging, and brand guidelines are just a few examples of materials developed by our team. Additionally, we have engaged the spirit of giving by launching a Modernization funding campaign through the Kaweah Health Foundation. Through this campaign, public donors can choose to support our work by donating funds to offset the one-time costs of the rebranding efforts. Kaweah Health belongs to the community and we have invited them to join us by supporting our journey to world-class care.

Why are we making these changes now?

The pandemic has revived a passion for health in our world and we are doing this now to position ourselves for growth and success in the ever-expanding healthcare space of Central California. We continue to expand our regional reach, partnerships, and affiliations with leaders in healthcare, such as the Cleveland Clinic, Valley Children’s Hospital, and the University of Southern California, and these changes are necessary to clearly identify us as a unified, unique, regional entity and California healthcare system. The pandemic has been unimaginably difficult, but through it all, our commitment and passion for health has been steadfast. There is no better time than now to again commit to our resolve and take one step closer to who we want to be – a world-class healthcare provider for life. Though we would not choose for our community to face crisis situations, when we do, they can bring unexpected gifts, including a renewed value and passion for health and wellness. The pandemic knocked us down but we are a phoenix rising from the ashes. We are gaining our strength back and rising from the fire as Kaweah Health.

How will this help us grow?

Our future success, if not our very survival, will be influenced by how well we win the hearts and minds of great doctors, nurses, and employees who will help us build the brand we seek. After decades of experience, we’ve learned that progress in medicine lies not only in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what can be. Our reputation will ultimately be defined by the patients and families who place their trust in us. The new brand will both honor the past and look toward the future, and will enhance our ability to retain and recruit excellent medical staff and employees. Every great brand carries a promise that must be met or exceeded every day by team members who believe in the mission. Our brand promise is clear: to treat our patients with compassion, excellence, and with a passion to see them prosper and be well. If we can, and we must, deliver on this promise, we will have built a brand that can be trusted, sought after, profitable, and enduring for generations to come.

When was the last time we rebranded? Why do we need a new brand?

In its nearly 60-year history as a healthcare organization, Kaweah Health Health Care District has never gone through a rebrand. This fact is astonishing considering most established household brand names tend to go through a major brand overhaul every 7-10 years, with smaller ones refreshing more frequently. This will be our very first branding effort in six decades. Kaweah Health is the next chapter in our story and it will carry us into the future for at least the next 20-40 years. Additionally, modernizing our brand is necessary to:

• Unite and represent the entirety of our service lines, programs, and locations under a common name, logo, and brand
• Clearly identify us as a unified, unique, regional entity and California healthcare system
• Enable consistency in messaging and education, making navigating our healthcare system easier for our patients, team, and community

Are we changing our mission and vision statements?

No. Our mission and vision statements will not be changing. Our mission and vision are our foundation and will always guide what we do, and this rebranding effort will better align our brand with our guiding beliefs. In fact, it was during a development discussion for our mission and vision statements in 2018 that the idea to rebrand our organization was first suggested. Since that time, many conversations and extensive research with our employees, medical staff, board of directors, community advisory committees, and the public have taken place about rebranding. Kaweah Health is the culmination of these conversations and one more step on our journey to becoming a world-class healthcare provider.

Is our logo changing? What will it look like?

Yes. Our logo has changed to complement and enhance our new Kaweah Health brand. The new design was developed in-house with input from focus groups comprised of our employees, medical staff, board of directors, and community advisory committees. The feedback we received from our team was invaluable and greatly contributed to the final design, which is a simplified shape of the letter “K” – a modern and clear reference to our name. The edges of the shape are rounded to represent the continuum of care unique to our integrated healthcare system. The colors are clean, vibrant, and represent the coming together of the people we serve and our passion for health. The logo and its colors are a nod to our past and a symbol of our change, uniting us all in this moment as we step toward the future. The new design is original, bespoke, contemporary, and will help our brand stand out in the crowded healthcare market place.

Will there be a change to our legal entity?

No. Our legal name will remain Kaweah Health Health Care District as reflected on our hospital license, our filings with the IRS, and other legal documents. We will be filing a DBA (“Doing Business As”) for our brand name, Kaweah Health. Most often, a DBA represents an entity’s consumer-facing name that aids with branding and strategic marketing.

What is not changing?

• Our legal entity
• Our mission, vision, and pillars
• Our operations, policies, and procedures
• Our status as a healthcare district with a publicly-elected board
• Our commitment to providing world-class care to our patients, team, and community
• Our commitment to remaining financially sound, while maintaining a competitive position in our industry and region, to protect our patient care and team

When will the signage at Kaweah Health locations?

The sign transition will happen over time in order to ensure we are living up to our value of stewardship. Some service areas have already begun making the transition; others are scheduled to do so. Sign installation began on April 27 at our downtown Visalia campus. Installation dates vary by location and are scheduled through the end of 2021.

Are employee email addresses changing? What will the new emails be?

Yes. Effective May 1, email addresses will change to reflect our web domain – the domain is the information in an email address that appears after the “@” symbol. Any emails sent to @kdhcd.org will automatically be redirected to our new domain address: @kaweahhealth.org. There should be minimal to no interruption in service. Current usernames will remain in place; only the domain will change. Example: username@kaweahhealth.org will become username@kaweahhealth.org.

Why do I keep reading “Live with passion” in the brand messages?

The “Live with passion” theme was inspired by the first line in our mission statement: health is our passion. We know excellent healthcare has the power to heal, but it is our passion for people that inspires wellness and changes lives for the better. When people come to our facilities and connect with our healthcare team, we want them to experience the truth of our mission and values in every interaction they have with us. We want them to know we are dedicated to more than medicine. Whether they are inside or outside the walls of our facilities, we are dedicated to each person’s whole-person wellness and passionate pursuit of a life lived well – a life lived with passion.