Kansas City, Kan. ? The hospital affiliated with Kansas University is about to change its marketing name.

The hospital — which has been called KU Med since 1998 — on Sunday will begin calling itself the University of Kansas Hospital.

Officials said the new name would more clearly explain the hospital’s association with the university to people outside the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“We’ve established ourselves in the public’s mind locally,” said Dennis McCulloch, director of public and governmental relations. “Now we need to take the next step to help our name get out to regional and national audiences.”

The hospital has operated under the name “KU Med” since 1998, when it became a separate entity from the KU schools of medicine, allied health and nursing, all located on the KU Medical Center campus.

McCulloch said the name was initially changed in marketing and promotional material to maintain continuity after the shift in structure.

“The thinking at the time was we could have called the hospital ‘Ralph’ and everybody would have called it ‘KU Med,'” McCulloch said.

The hospital’s formal name, established in Kansas statutes, has remained “University of Kansas Hospital.”

In addition to helping explain that the hospital was affiliated with Kansas University, McCulloch said the name change would help quash media and public confusion over the relationship between the hospital and university functions at the Medical Center, which are separate.

KU Med will change its name to University of Kansas Hospital. The hospital had operated under the name KU

“When the university side had some layoffs (last year), some reporters called and asked if it affected the hospital,” McCulloch said. “Then some TV stations used video from the hospital instead of the university.”

The hospital’s logo will change, but McCulloch said no hospital or university operations would be altered.