Five Kansas health systems have launched a regional collaboration, called Astra Health, to pool resources and coordinate services while retaining their independence.
The new shared services organization was announced Tuesday and will include LMH Health, The University of Kansas Health System, Amberwell Health, Newman Regional Health and Salina Regional Health Center. Together, the organizations see more than half a million patients annually and extend into every county in the state.
“The partnership will help participating hospitals improve quality, share best practices, enhance performance measurement, and strengthen care delivery in the communities they serve,” Shelly Kortkamp, M.D., president and CEO of LMH Health, said in an announcement.
Off the bat, Astra Health’s founding members will work together to create shared quality metrics and other care support tools they said will “ultimately decrease costs for patients and employers.” That’ll require an exchange of knowledge, data and funds, though the latter will be supported by an award from the Kansas Rural Health Transformation Plan to develop shared infrastructure and performance metric reporting.
Of note, the partners said their collaborative model will provide the scale and capabilities of a larger health system “while keeping … the independence each hospital values.”
Kortkamp, in LMH Health’s announcement, said the arrangement will boost patients’ access to specialty and acute care services, and will include the development of “innovative direct-to-employer healthcare solutions.” She also stressed that the healthcare landscape at large is undergoing rapid changes and pressures that are difficult for organizations to face on their own.
“Our communities expect excellent care close to home, and they want their hospital to remain strong and independent,” she said. “Astra Health allows us to invest together in quality improvement, data resources, and innovation that will help our local hospitals continue to thrive as we deliver exceptional care for the people who depend on us.”
Additionally, Astra Health said it will also participate in the Kansas Clinical Improvement Collaborative (KCIC), which is part of the University of Kansas Health System Care Collaborative. KCIC is a 51-hospital clinically integrated network launched in 2016 and has since received over $5 million in government grants supporting rural care delivery and workforce training.
Word of Astra Health comes just a few months after the unveiling of the Kansas High Value Network (KS-HVN), a clinically integrated network comprising seven independent rural hospitals serving 190,000 patients. Such partnerships are becoming more common as independent hospitals in states like North Dakota and Wisconsin seek to scale their efforts while avoiding acquisition.