Mercy Health, Summa Create Integrated Network
CINCINNATI – Mercy Health and Akron-based Summa Health announced Monday they are jointly creating Advanced Health Select, the largest clinically integrated network in Ohio.
Mercy Health Select and NewHealth Collaborative, the accountable care organizations operated by Mercy and Summa, will be the first provider networks to join Advanced Health Select. The health care systems “will continue to provide the outstanding care within their local markets guided by their distinct mission and vision,” the announcement said. But now more than 2,800 providers in Ohio and Kentucky will all be linked in a single network of networks” to improve chronic care management and lower the total cost of care for patients and communities.
Accountable care organizations, known as ACOs, are recognized by the federal government as groups of doctors, hospitals and health-care providers aligned to provide coordinated care to Medicare patients. The goal is to achieve cost savings for the Medicare program, which then shares some of the savings with the ACO.
Mercy Health and Summa Health plan to invest more than $100 million over three years into Advanced Health Select. Advanced data analytics and technology support will make it more sustainable, efficient and effective than other partnerships around the country, according to the announcement
“Combining the strengths of Mercy Health Select and NewHealth Collaborative puts us at the forefront of health-care transformation,” said Michael D. Connelly, president and CEO of Mercy Health, Ohio’s largest health-care system. “Together, we will provide patients with the same quality care they always have received from us, but also optimize cutting-edge services such as care coordination and advanced data analytics to improve that care. Together, we are confident that we will improve the lives of our patients and improve the health of the communities we serve.”
NewHealth Collaborative and Mercy Health Select were the only two ACOs in Ohio to achieve shared savings for Medicare under the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2014. Combined, they saved more than $25 million for the Medicare program while improving care quality for more than 100,000 patients in Ohio, the health systems say.
Dr. Brent Asplin, chief clinical officer at Mercy Health and co-president of Mercy Health Select, will serve as president of Advanced Health Select. Dr. Mike Terpylak, president of NewHealth Collaborative, will serve as a founding member of the board of managers.
Mercy Health employs 32,000 in Ohio and Kentucky. The system operates about 450 health facilities, including 23 hospitals, eight senior living communities, five hospice programs and seven home health agencies.
Summa Health operates a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, a multi-specialty physician organization, research and the Summa Foundation.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
