Having been known in the community since 2003 as Spalding Regional Medical Center, the local hospital on South 8th Street changed its name back to Spalding Regional Hospital in September.

According to Spalding Regional Hospital CEO John Quinn, research indicated that residents could relate better to the term hospital than to the term medical center.

“The hospital name describes better who we are,” said Quinn, “It’s defining a little bit more who we are.”

The recently created brand Spalding Health comprises various health care entities in the area — among them Sylvan Grove Hospital in Jackson as well as the outpatient facilities Griffin Imaging and the Center for Rehabilitation Services. And Spalding Regional Hospital, which is also a part of Spalding Health, can better communicate these services through its new name, Quinn said.

Spalding Regional Hospital will remain a part of the Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and the services provided by the local hospital will also not change, Quinn said.

“It’s not a downgrade,” he said. “In fact, we continue to do more.”

Along with the change in name comes a new logo for the hospital, which Quinn said will appear more modern.

“We also needed to modernize the look of our marketing material,” he said. “It’s helping us being a vehicle to better communicate who we are.”