Brookhaven Memorial Hospital drops plan to rename itself LI Medical Center

Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center has dropped its plan to rename itself Long Island Medical Center.

The hospital said it decided not to proceed after it received feedback from the community that the proposed name didn’t properly reflect its local mission.

The hospital said it still plans to change its name, but it wouldn’t say what the new name would be.

Brookhaven also received input from New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health, the largest private employer in the state, which operates the similarly named Long Island Jewish Medical Center, according to officials at Northwell. Long Island Jewish Medical Center is located in New Hyde Park.

“Because we have a legal obligation to protect Northwell Health’s naming assets, including Long Island Jewish Medical Center, we did express concerns to representatives of Brookhaven Memorial Hospital about the use of Long Island Medical Center as the hospital’s new name,” said Terry Lynam, a Northwell spokesman. He said that the health system was pleased “that the issue has been resolved.”

Brookhaven said the Northwell letter wasn't a factor in its deliberations. “While we are respectful of Northwell’s concerns, it didn’t impact our decision regarding our name change," said Katherine Heaviside, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

Brookhaven originally said in February that it would rename itself. The hospital said that it planned to publicize the new name through an Islandwide marketing and advertising campaign, but that effort never materialized.

Brookhaven said at the time it had been working on the rebranding for more than a year.

The hospital has been known as Brookhaven Memorial since it was founded more than 60 years ago.