Challenge: Partners Healthcare (now Mass General Brigham) and its major member hospitals, Mass General (MGH) and Brigham & Women’s (BWH), were merging as part of Partners HealthCare and were faced with the challenge of communicating the change to all constituencies.

Objective: To determine the effect of the merger and how it should be communicated to internal and external constituents.

Solution: Extensive exploratory research was conducted among physicians, nurses, hospital staff members, and healthcare consumers, to determine the effect of the merger on attitudes toward the two hospitals and any concerns moving forward.

Result: Based on this work and insights, we recommended an optimal approach to communicating the merger in terms of messaging and media that was successfully implemented. Today, Mass General Brigham is the largest private employer in Massachusetts and its institutions maintain a total research budget of nearly $2 billion, with a strong commitment to the community. Its hospitals have consistently been ranked among the top ten nationwide in the US News and World Report’s Honor Roll.