For nearly 120 years, we’ve been providing high-quality and personalized care for you and your loved ones. Our commitment expanded two years ago when we formed Luminis Health. In this month’s What’s Up Magazine, our CEO Tori Bayless, shares how the name came to be, and our approach to better health care. Here is the article:
Anyone who has ever picked out a name—whether for a newborn baby, an adopted pet, or even a boat—knows that names help shape an identity. For Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC), the name Luminis Health reflects our identity. To understand the origins of the name, it’s important to take a look at the history behind AAMC.
In 1902, Annapolis Emergency Hospital was founded in Maryland’s capital city, housed in a farmhouse off Duke of Gloucester Street. Over the next 119 years, that hospital would grow and evolve in many ways, and with each evolution, the hospital’s name would change to reflect its expanded service to our community.
With the growth of Anne Arundel County after WWII, the hospital expanded to meet the needs of a booming population in greater Annapolis. With an increasing number of births, a growing orthopedics specialty, and the beginning advancements of modern medicine, Annapolis Emergency Hospital changed its name to Anne Arundel General Hospital to reflect its expanded services and geography.
When the hospital’s Board of Trustees voted to purchase 104 acres on Jennifer Road in 1984, the next evolution was signaled, as hospital and community leaders began to envision a new, comprehensive system of health care for family, friends, and neighbors. In 1988, the Board of Trustees voted to change the formal name to Anne Arundel General Health Care System for the “parent organization,” with the hospital name being changed to Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) in 1989. Within three years, Anne Arundel General Health Care System would include not only AAMC, but also a new addiction treatment facility called Pathways.
As pressures on health care providers increased at the turn of the 21st century, AAMC leaders recognized that growth was vital to its mission for several important reasons. First and foremost, access to quality care for all who needed it inspired AAMC to build pavilions across the region, from Easton, Centreville, and Kent Island on the Eastern Shore, to Bowie, to Pasadena in North County, and Odenton farther west. The goal was simple—bring high-quality care closer to where people live and work.
The second reason was, perhaps, more complicated but equally important. As large systems absorbed smaller hospitals throughout the state, AAMC’s leadership was committed to maintaining its independence to ensure it could continue to deliver its own brand of patient- and family-centered care. In order to maintain its independence, continued growth and scale would be imperative. When Doctors Community Hospital (now Doctors Community Medical Center or DCMC for short) recognized that they needed to be a part of a larger organization to ensure they could continue to serve the Prince George’s County community, they sought to become a part of Anne Arundel Health System.
In 2019, our Board of Trustees approved AAMC and DCMC coming together to form a new health system: Luminis Health. The result is easier access to more locations—from the Eastern Shore, through Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties, and well into Southern Maryland—enhanced quality, and improved health outcomes. “Luminis” supports our commitment to being a beacon of hope and healing for our communities. “Health” shares our commitment to sick care and well care, education, and healthy living. Luminis Health brings together a century-plus legacy of compassionate service to patients and families, a commitment to lighting the way to the highest quality, personalized health care for all who need it.
Now, as Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, our Annapolis campus continues to be home to Maryland’s busiest emergency department, largest joint replacement and bariatrics/weight loss programs, second busiest birthing center, and world-class cancer program.
The new name of Luminis Health is yet another landmark for a hospital and health system that has been an integral part of this community for nearly 120 years.
Thanks to you, our community, for your support throughout the years and for making Luminis Health a part of your lifestyle.
