Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center unites under shared brand. See its new name.

PANAMA CITY — Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center has changed its name to HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital.

The name change comes as HCA Florida Healthcare announced Thursday that more than 450 affiliated facilities across the state will unite under the shared brand. The change aims to create a leading collaborative health care network throughout the state, including hospitals, freestanding emergency rooms and physicians’ practices.

HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital CEO Brad Griffin announced the change at the Bay County Chamber of Commerce's First Friday event, saying that HCA Florida is one of the largest health care networks in the state. He said the medical center has been a part of the network since the hospital’s inception, but the name change gives patients a more collaborative and connected experience.

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“As part of the leading national health care network, HCA Healthcare, we are connected to more resources, more solutions, and more possibilities for everyone who walks through our doors,” Griffin said. “We are always driven by a single mission above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.”

For former and current patients of HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital, Griffin said the upcoming transition will not affect operations within the hospital.

“You're going to see, obviously, changes in signage and materials throughout the hospital, but at the end of the day, it's still the same staff and same physicians that are delivering care and treating our patients like their own family,” Griffin said.

As the county sees rapid growth, Griffin said the hospital also is seeing that growth.

“We're doing expansion, adding beds, adding operating rooms, adding facilities to meet the growing need in our community,” Griffin said. “I think uniting under one brand demonstrates our scale, our size, the opportunity for patients to have a much larger experience in the area with our sister facilities across the Panhandle and throughout the state.”

The idea to unify under one brand was meant to demonstrate the size and capabilities across Florida, so that patients know wherever they go, they can get the same level of care and experience in HCA facilities, said Griffin.

He said the brand unification of 50 hospitals is a huge moment for the hospital, as well as the state.

“Our hospital is going to continue to expand and meet the needs of the communities, both here in Bay County and the communities that surround us,” Griffin said. “So, we'll continue to evolve and add services and add space to our facility going forward as we grow to meet those needs.”

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Florida's GCRMC is one of 50 hospitals joining HCA brand