WMHS Changes Campus Names

The names of two Western Maryland Health System facilities have changed in response to the request from the Daughters of Charity, who ended their ministry in Cumberland in 2005. Sacred Heart Hospital is now Braddock Hospital and the St. Vincent de Paul Nursing Center is now the WMHS-Frostburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center since both names were so closely connected to the Daughters of Charity.

"The Health System is taking this opportunity to start associating both hospitals with the Western Maryland Health System name in preparation for moving to our single hospital on Willowbrook Road in 2009," explained Barry P. Ronan, WMHS President and CEO. "We will be referring to the hospitals as WMHS-Braddock Campus and WMHS-Memorial Campus in our signage, stationery, forms, and other printed materials."

Also requested by the Daughters of Charity is the removal of religious artifacts and artwork that are closely related with the Daughters. Some of these items are being returned to the Daughters of Charity for use in their ministries. The remaining items are being donated to local religious organizations or will be retained by WMHS and used as part of a planned heritage display in the new hospital.

"Both hospitals have a long, distinguished history of providing care to the community and we plan to preserve their heritage when we move to our new state-of-the-art facility," continued Ronan. "Space has been set aside in the new hospital to showcase how important the two hospitals have been to community and to recognize the care that has been provided by our physicians and employees over the years."

The request from the Daughters of Charity for these changes has been the practice in other communities where the Daughters have ended their ministries and are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations. Based on the Daughters' decision to end their ministry here and the Health System's plans to build a single hospital, WMHS and Ascension Health mutually agreed that Ascension Health would discontinue its sponsorship role, which occurred when the financial transactions for the new facility were finalized in November.

"All of these actions do not change the mission of the Western Maryland Health System," concluded Ronan. "We have always been—and will always be—a values driven organization that is dedicated to improving the health and well being of the community we serve. We look forward to being able to do even more for our community in the years to come."