New name for Heartland Blood Centers

AURORA - Heartland Blood Centers is changing its name to Versiti Blood Center of Illinois, part of Versiti Inc., an international network of blood health innovation centers.

The rebranding reflects Versiti's expertise and strength of its blood centers, as well as its commitment to its nonprofit mission and to the hospitals and patients. Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin spearheaded the creation of Versiti in 2014 by affiliating with partner blood centers in the Midwest to create a stronger organization to save more lives, improve patient outcomes, provide higher quality services and reduce cost of care for its hospitals. Versiti is now the 5th largest blood provider in the U.S.

HBC is among five Midwest blood centers will transition to the Versiti brand. Other locations include Versiti BloodCenter of Indiana; Versiti Blood Center of Michigan; Versiti Blood Center of Ohio; and Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin.

The community awareness campaign was launched in Illinois in May and includes a television commercial as well as radio ads and billboards. The interior of Versiti Blood Center of Illinois's thirteen centers across the state have been redesigned to reflect the new name, with new exterior signage planned in the coming weeks.

"Bringing our five local communities together under the Versiti brand is a crucial step in advancing our mission to save and enhance lives through discovery, diagnosis and treatment," said Versiti President and CEO Chris Miskel.