Business

Park Ridge forms ACO in region

Park Ridge Health campus.

By Bill Moss, Published: July 18, 2016

Park Ridge Health has formed a strategic partnership with CHESS, a population health management company based in High Point that will guide Park Ridge's new Accountable Care Organization in the western part of the state.

One of several managed by CHESS in North Carolina, the new ACO will be made up of 140 Park Ridge Health providers and several dozen independent physicians in the region, improving coordination of care for the patients of Western North Carolina.

The ACO model, which focuses on high quality care, improved patient satisfaction and reduced cost of care, is  consistent with the Park Ridge Health tradition of providing the highest quality care to patients at the greatest value, Park Ridge said in a news release. Through the relationship with CHESS, Park Ridge Health and its fellow ACO providers will join the 2300+ providers aligned with CHESS throughout the state.

“By partnering with one of the largest and most successful population health organizations in the state, we believe we will be able to enhance the benefits we offer to patients throughout our community,” Jason Wells, Chief Operating Officer Park Ridge Health Physician Enterprise, said in a news release. “We will be driving access to even more comprehensive care, meeting our commitment to continuously improve quality, focusing on providing the right care at the right time and place, and bringing an unprecedented scope of care to our region. By collaborating with leading health care providers across the state, we will now be able to offer our patients more options designed to meet all of their health care needs.”

"Partnering with CHESS will cement Park Ridge Health’s abilities to stay at the head of health care reform changes while maintaining our excellent quality of care,” said Jimm Bunch, Park Ridge Health CEO. “We will be working with CHESS partners like Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center which has a proven track record in shifting reimbursement methods to payment models based on quality, outcomes and cost.”

CHESS has assisted a number of health systems in central and western North Carolina in making the transformation to value by implementing innovative care models and establishing value-based contracts with insurance carriers. CHESS transformation clients include Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, Catawba Valley Medical Group, Cornerstone Health Care and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.