The Plain Language Act and VA.gov Design System require that we use plain language as much as possible because it makes it easier for the public to read, understand and use government communications.

We use the most common standard from the legacy websites—geographical location or region identifiers—used by 85% of the legacy websites. For example:

• Plain language: Erie health care
• Formal name: Erie Healthcare System

This enables us to “future-proof” the new sites as much as possible as VA evolves and creates new or merges existing health care systems.

The VA.gov design system requires that we use the plain language name for URLs, page titles, meta-tags and other content. The formal health care system name can be used in body text as needed. Please keep in mind the requirement to use plain language as much as possible.

Also, it’s important to note that the health care system naming convention does not replace the official names of individual hospitals or clinics. These names come from the Veteran Affairs Site Tracking (VAST) system via the Lighthouse Facilities API. VAST has governance for the naming convention of medical centers and clinics, including those that have been named through legislation. Review the Knowledge Base article about facility basic data changes for more information.