Howard County General Hospital announced Monday it has changed its name to Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center.
The nonprofit medical center, located at 5755 Cedar Lane in Columbia, has been affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine for 25 years. The medical center will offer the same services under the new name, with the goal of expanding Johns Hopkins specialty care there in the future, according to a news release from the organization.
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Sharon Sopp, interim director of hospital communications, said officials decided to make the name change during the hospital’s 50th anniversary year to help the community understand its association with Johns Hopkins.
“After surveying the community, we discovered that a third did not know we are affiliated with JHM,” she said. “Moving the system name to the front of the medical center name will help improve that disconnect.”
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center has 226 beds and a staff of nearly 1,000 physicians and allied health professionals representing 120 specialties and subspecialties and a workforce of more than 1,800 employees.
The hospital offers neonatal care, oncology, outpatient treatment and critical care, among other services.
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“Being part of Johns Hopkins Medicine is who we are and who we have been. We are proud of our 25-year legacy, and our new name reflects that ongoing connection,” Shafeeq Ahmed, president of Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, said in the news release.
“We are all aware and proud of the critical importance of community hospitals, and in particular the role Howard County General Hospital has played in serving the community for so many years,” Kevin Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine said in the release. “Our evolution as a community hospital allows us the opportunity to deliver the best that Johns Hopkins Medicine has to offer. This name change underscores the connection that we have been building on for the last 25 years, and signifies our commitment to continuing to drive our mission forward together.”