What were once three separate hospitals and numerous specialty medical practices that merged over the past year are now united under one name: TidalHealth.

“Starting today, for decades to come, this is who we are together,” said Steven Leonard, President and CEO of what is now known as TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, during an announcement and public unveiling on Tuesday morning.

The former Peninsula Regional Health System – including Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, and the McCready, Ocean Pines and Millsboro Health Pavilions – now use TidalHealth as part of their name, such as TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, TidalHealth Nanticoke and TidalHealth McCready Pavilion 

The new name is appropriate, especially at TidalHealth Nanticoke on the Nanticoke River in Seaford where patients and staff can watch the ebb and flow, said Penny Short, the hospital’s president. Even the Indian word Nanticoke means “tidewater people.”

“The tides are embedded in our history of Seaford and all of Delmarva,” she said.

After merging with Nanticoke last year and with McCready earlier this year, health system officials spent hours talking to patients, doctors and employees to understand the communities and their commonalities, Leonard said.

“Throughout the process, we have come to realize three key points about our health system: Quality is our constant. Special is our signature. Community is our core,” he said. “We are better together and the community must feel it. Just as the tides shape our waterways, we are shaping healthcare on Delmarva.”

Dedication to their patients and to the various communities they serve helped create “a common identity that resonates with our past and will help us chart a new course for a healthier future,” Short said.

The new identity allows community members, as well as staff, to have a better sense of the scope of services offered across the health system. It also conveys the shared roots, values and culture of the organization, officials said.

The TidalHealth umbrella also includes more than 250 primary care and specialty providers in locations all over the lower Eastern Shore and southern Delaware, said Dr. Karen DiBari, president of the Medical Partners.

Peninsula Regional Medical Group, the Nanticoke Physician Network, Delmarva Heart and Peninsula Cardiology have officially joined under the new name TidalHealth Medical Partners. Better together, the physician groups have united in a shared mission: to improve the health of the communities they serve, she said.

“By coming together, we’re making it easier for every person on Delmarva to find care where and when they need it,” DiBari said. “It is essential for every person to have a provider who will be with them on their health journey, helping them to stay well, and providing care and guidance when they are sick.”

For patients, the change will be seamless – and will make care even more accessible. Patients will be able to rely on the same providers in the same offices. Appointments that have been previously scheduled will not change.  What patients of the new physician group might find, though, is that they now have an office or specialty practice, medical campus or doctor closer to them and more conveniently located because of the collaboration.

“The name on the doors may change, but our commitment to the health of our community remains consistent,” Leonard said. “We know that with this new identity, we can continue to care for the people of Delmarva for generations to come.”

TidalHealth Peninsula Regional is the oldest of the three hospitals that have been incorporated into the health system, Leonard said. It was started by Dr. George Todd in 1897 who realized it was a better way to care for the sick and injured than making house calls. Over the years it went through several name alterations, most recently as Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

McCready Memorial Hospital in Crisfield – now called TidalHealth McCready Pavilion -- was “born out of tragedy” in 1923 after Chicago millionaire Edward McCready, his daughter and her nursemaid were killed when a train struck their automobile in Westover, Leonard said. McCready’s widow then gave $200,000 to expand an existing tiny hospital in Crisfield as a way to thank the kindness she was shown by local residents.

TidalHealth Nanticoke was founded in 1950 as Nanticoke Memorial Hospital after civic organizations raised money for the new facility which was built in honor of those who served in World War II.

Leonard said the shared values and cultures of the three hospitals and the various physician groups brought everyone together and will help carry TidalHealth into the future.

“Our new identity is more than a new name and logo,” he said. “It represents our shared values and unwavering commitment to the community.”