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A major change is coming to the medical community in Volusia and Flagler counties and elsewhere in Florida and eight other states.

Florida Hospital’s parent company, Adventist Health System, has announced that it will soon change its name to AdventHealth, and be using that as a lead-in to the names of all its hospitals, along with the name of the city each facility is in.

Effective Jan. 2, 2019, the five Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties will assume new names:

• Florida Hospital DeLand will become AdventHealth DeLand, pending review and approval by the West Volusia Hospital Authority.

• Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City will become AdventHealth Fish Memorial.

• Florida Hospital Flagler will become AdventHealth Palm Coast.

• Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center will become AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

• Florida Hospital New Smyrna will become AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach.

Based in Altamonte Springs, Adventist Health System is one of the nation’s largest faith-based health care systems, with nearly 50 hospital campuses and more than 80,000 employees, about 8,000 of whom work in Volusia and Flagler counties.

As part of this transition, all of Adventist’s wholly owned hospitals and hundreds of care sites across its footprint in nine states will adopt the AdventHealth name and logo beginning in early 2019. For example, Florida Hospital Centra Care will become AdventHealth Centra Care.

While the names are changing, the organization is not changing in ownership or business structure.

“We are transforming to be a more consumer-focused health care system to better meet the needs of those we care for and the communities we serve,” said Terry Shaw, president/CEO for Adventist Health System. “Becoming AdventHealth allows us to be a fully integrated and distinguishable health system across all aspects of the care continuum, while also speaking to our Christian healing ministry, message of wholeness and our rich Seventh-day Adventist roots.”

The name AdventHealth signals the arrival or beginning of health.

“We want our hospitals and care sites to be places where people can experience hope as well as healing, and the AdventHealth name so appropriately expresses that sense of expectation and optimism while also connecting with our promise of wholeness and our rich faith-based heritage,” said Gary Thurber, chairman of the Adventist Health System board.

In preparation for the launch of a systemwide brand, the organization spent eight months focused on deploying consistent culture and service practices to solidify the consumer-centric approach that will inform every interaction and experience that patients have with caregivers and team members across all care settings, Adventist officials said.

“This is a wonderful and exciting time for the organization. We are united by our mission of ‘Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ,’ as well as our vision, values and service standards to provide best-in-class, consumer-centric care,” said Shaw. “In continuing our tradition of healing and hope, we will work to make an even greater impact and foster abundant life in the communities we serve.”

In September, a transition campaign featuring television and print ads will begin in various markets across the country, officials said.

Changes to signage and visual elements at hospitals and other facilities are expected to take place in January when the AdventHealth name is fully adopted systemwide. This is a multimillion-dollar expenditure, which has been planned and budgeted for over a period of years. There will be no financial impact on consumers.

Joint-venture locations will not change as part of this rebrand, according to Adventist officials.