Lifespan Hospitals To Be Renamed Brown Health, University Giving $150M

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's largest hospital group will change its name to Brown University Health through a rebranding as the school is set to give the group $150 million over seven years, Brown announced Thursday.

The rebrand aims to "enhance [Lifespan's] ability to recruit and retain world-class physicians and [reflect] a deeper alignment between Lifespan’s clinical care and Brown's academic and research focus," according to the school.

After the seven years are up, Lifespan said it will invest $15 million annually to support the Warren Alpert Medical School's education and research efforts.

"We are excited to move forward with robust plans to expand our facilities and improve our systems and technology to be able to compete with new entrants to the health delivery market, such as national chains," Lifespan President and Chief Executive Officer John Fernandez said.
"This enhanced relationship with Brown is one part of the solution to ensure that our health system can continue to offer the people of Rhode Island the opportunity to access high-quality treatment close to home."

Brown President Christina H. Paxson added that the agreement between Brown and Lifespan will advance Brown's goals to ensure the best opportunities for medical students, residents and fellows.

"Brown and Lifespan are taking important steps to strengthen our longstanding affiliation with the goal of improving the health of families in Rhode Island, both through medical advances in care and state-of-the-art medical training for the next generation of physicians," Paxson said.

Read the full announcement at Brown University's website.