If you've heard someone refer to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center recently, no, they didn't misspeak.

The Joliet-based, 420-bed hospital may still have "Provena" in the lit sign that sits at the top of its 333 Madison St. building, but the name is now "Presence" in the wake of Mokena-based Provena Health's merger with Resurrection Healthcare.

The merger was announced in 2011 and completed last year, creating the second-largest hospital network in the Chicago area.

But the process of rolling out the new Presence name is taking time because of the work and expense involved in changing signs, updating Web sites, printing new documents and the like, Presence St. Joseph spokeswoman Jan Ciccarelli said.

And that work needs to be done for all 12 hospitals, 27 long-term care and senior residential facilities, numerous outpatient centers and other divisions of the new corporation.

"We did expect to be able to do it sooner," Ciccarelli said. "(But) the transition of everything takes time."

The merger was "done out of necessity to some degree" because of the money that can be saved, she said. But there are also benefits, including the expanded "base of knowledge and expertise" that comes with having access to more doctors and equipment, she said.

As for the name Presence, the founding sisters of both hospital groups came up with it as a reflection of their shared mission, Ciccarelli said.

"From what I understand, they wanted a 'real' word," she said. "Something that reflected our commitment to be 'present' in the community."

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