What's in a Name? In Lafayette, a lot

In Lafayette, people don't like it when things change names.  I still refer to Guidry's Reef as The Oyster Reef, whatever that building is across from Randol's will always be known as "the old Pizza Playhouse" and you know someone is a long-time Lafayette veteran when they call Johnston Street the Abbeville Highway.

That's why it puzzles me to no end as to why HCA is re-naming Southwest Medical Center AGAIN!  The Advertiser reports the hospital at Congress and Ambassador will now be known as The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana.  Huh?  To the best of my knowledge this is the history of the hospital's name since it's formation - Hamilton Hospital, The Medical Center of Southwest Louisiana, Southwest Medical Center.  This will make four names in just as many decades.

Tennessee-based Hospital Corporation of America owns the hospital along with Women's & Children's and Dauterive Hospital in New Iberia.  Evidently, together, these facilities will be known as Regional Health System of Acadiana.  I'm sure all of these facilities provide great medical care, but their new names will no doubt cause confusion.

In my eyes, HCA would do better with one brand name for all three hospitals:  Brand X Medical Center (Southwest), Brand X Women's and Children's, Brand X New Iberia.  The Ochsner Health System in New Orleans has done a great branding its facilities this way.  Also - could HCA have picked a more generic name?  What will people call the hospital - Regional?  

I do know one thing about this name change for Southwest - it guarantees that locals will continue to refer to it as Hamilton Hospital.