Owasso’s Ascension St. John Celebrates Completion of One Ascension Journey
LOOKING AHEAD: Civic leaders, Owasso residents and Ascension personnel were all smiles at the Ascension St. John Owasso event.
Owasso’s St. John Hospital is now Ascension St. John. A celebration was held Feb. 11 at the hospital to add Ascension to the St. John name. Events were also held at St. John locations in Jenks, Broken Arrow and Bixby, as well at the midtown Tulsa location at 21st Street and Utica Avenue, where a $25-million renovation and re-brand is underway, funded by Ascension capital and significant community donations.
In October 2018, St. John Health System announced plans to add Ascension to its name as part of a national effort to make it easier for patients and families to access the care they need and navigate their health.
Having completed the legal requirements for the name change, new external and internal signage began going up throughout the health system in October, officially putting into use the new brand, colors and name: Ascension St. John and Ascension Medical Group St. John.
In February Ascension St. John celebrates this journey and the benefits it has brought, and will continue to bring, to patients and their families, their caregivers and communities it serves throughout northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas.
Speakers at the Owasso event included Sister Maureen McGuire, Executive Vice President, Mission Integration, and Nick Ragone, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, both with Ascension; and Bishop David A. Konderla of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.
“This is much more than a new look and brand. It is a testament to the work that we, as part of a national system, are doing to ensure access to personalized care,” says Mike McBride, FACHE, Ascension St. John Regional President and CEO, who has led the unified transition along with Candice Evans, Director, St. John Marketing and Communications.
“Adding the Ascension name reflects the strength of being part of a national network, but our mission and our commitment to the communities we serve remain the same, says Jeff Nowlin, FACHE, Ascension St. John CEO and Oklahoma Ministry Market Executive. “We look forward to continuing to serve our patients, their families and our community for many years to come.”
Since 2013, St. John has been fully part of Ascension, the nation’s leading nonprofit Catholic health system, with more than 2,600 sites of care, 150,000 associates and 40,000 aligned providers in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
