Valley Children’s Hospital Changes Name to Children’s Hospital Central California

The board of trustees for Valley Children's Hospital has decided to change the facility's name to Children's Hospital Central California, the Fresno Bee reports. Hospital officials hope that the change will bring some immediate benefits, including raising local doctors' awareness of the facility, attracting more patients and helping the hospital bring in more revenue. In the long-term, officials hope the name change will help the facility better market its specialty services to physicians and patients in the western United States and Canada. Diana Dooley, senior vice president and general counsel for the hospital, said that the new name will "clarif[y]" the hospital's location, which will help recruit staff and charitable donations. "Simply saying 'Valley' is too generic," Dooley said. The Bee reports that the public will see "new signs, letterhead and advertising" over the next six months (Hoagland, Fresno Bee, 1/22).