BrandOverview
VCU Health represents all of the health-related components of Virginia Commonwealth University. It is the outward-facing brand that encompasses:
Our hospitals
- VCU Medical Center
- VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
- VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital
Our Health Sciences college and schools
- VCU College of Health Professions
- VCU School of Dentistry
- VCU School of Medicine
- VCU School of Nursing
- VCU School of Pharmacy
- VCU School of Public Health
Our practice plans, clinical operations and other health-related services
- VCU Health Ambulatory Surgery Center
- VCU Health Children's Services at Brook Road
- VCU Health Continuing Education
- VCU Health MCV Physicians
- University Health Services, Inc.
Our legal name
VCU Health is not our legal name, or a “doing business as” (DBA) name for any of our hospitals, clinical operations or services. There is still a need to use "VCU Health System Authority" as our legal name and identity:
- Medical records: All documents — medical history, discharge summaries, etc. — need to include the name of the provider-based facility or physician office in conjunction with the VCU Health masterbrand.
- Policies: All policies need to include the name of the provider-based facility or physician office in conjunction with the VCU Health masterbrand. For example, the Notice of Privacy Practices policy for Community Memorial Hospital differs slightly from the policy for VCU Medical Center. This would need to be clearly distinguished for each policy.
- Contracts and other legal and business documents: For most documents of a legal or business nature, the legal entity, VCU Health System Authority, needs to be identified, followed by the name of the provider-based facility or physician office.
- Stationery: For those departments that are part of the legal, business and compliance side of our enterprise (Audit and Compliance Services, Regulatory Affairs, Risk Management, etc.), VCU Health System Authority in conjunction with the VCU Health masterbrand should be used. Our stationery ordering website offers the option to include the legal names on any of our stationery items.
- Advertising: The VCU Health masterbrand is used for all advertising that promotes the overall enterprise. But for any recruitment and some Human Resources advertising, the employer needs to be identified.
- Signage: The provider-based facility or physician office must be identified on pedestrian and/or eye-level exterior signage as well as some interior spaces and areas in conjunction with the VCU Health masterbrand.
- Board of Directors materials: Because all materials related to our board and their meetings are of public record, all board communications in conjunction with the health system must use the VCU Health System Authority name and identity on all documents, PowerPoint presentations, official correspondence, etc.
Identifying the provider
Our health system has six separate entities, which are governed by their own individual boards:
- VCU Health Ambulatory Surgery Center
- VCU Health Children's Services at Brook Road
- VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
- VCU Health MCV Physicians
- VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital
- VCU Medical Center
For medical records, legal and business documents, and select signage, it’s important to identify the provider-based facility or physician office. Failure to include the appropriate name may put us at risk to treat these entities as “provider-based” as defined by CMS, and reduce the payments we receive.
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU brand
Like VCU Health, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU is the outward-facing brand name used to describe all children’s health services at VCU. This includes all services provided by VCU Medical Center, VCU Health MCV Physicians and VCU Health Children's Services at Brook Road.
Governance
The services and activities of VCU Health are governed by two separate boards, which are interconnected through cross-membership by a selected number of board seats and select ex officio executive positions. VCU’s Board of Visitors governs the Health Sciences college and schools. VCU Health System Authority's Board of Directors governs our hospitals, clinical operations and services, which are managed in conjunction with their own individual boards.
VCU Health System Authority
In April 1996, Gov. George Allen signed legislation that established the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Hospitals Authority. On July 1, 1997, the operations, employees and obligations of MCV Hospitals (formerly a division of VCU) were transferred to the Authority. Three years later, in connection with legislation signed by Gov. James Gilmore, the MCV Hospitals Authority became the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority (the Authority) through the “Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority Act” (Code of Virginia § 23-50.16). Through this act, the clinical activities of our hospitals and clinics, MCV Physicians and VCU School of Medicine are now coordinated and integrated by and through the Authority.
The Authority is charged by statute with the missions of operating its hospitals as teaching hospitals for the benefit of the health sciences college and schools of VCU, providing high-quality patient care and providing a site for medical and biomedical research, all of which missions are required to be performed in close affiliation with the Office of the Vice President for VCU Health Sciences. VCU’s vice president for health sciences also serves as the CEO of the VCU Health System Authority, and VCU’s president also serves as the president of the health system and chair of the Authority’s board of directors.