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PORTLAND, Oregon – It’s the first of its kind in Oregon: an accountable care organization for children.

The 125 pediatric providers of the Children’s Health Alliance are organizing with Providence Children’s Health and Providence Health & Services to form a pediatric accountable care organization, or ACO. It will focus on high quality, comprehensive care for more than 13,000 children in the greater Portland area whose Medicaid coverage was formerly managed through the FamilyCare Health Coordinated Care Organization.

 

“The ACO is not only the first in Oregon that focuses exclusively on children – it’s one of only a few in the nation,” said Deborah Rumsey, executive director of Children’s Health Alliance. “The goal of the ACO is to build upon high quality, comprehensive care to achieve more cohesive and streamlined health services.”

Children in Oregon represent one of the most vulnerable populations, and caring for children is one of Providence’s highest priorities. “We believe this will ensure children, including those with complex care needs, receive comprehensive health services,” said Resa Bradeen, M.D., senior medical director, Providence Children’s Health. “The ACO will look to achieve optimal management of their long term health.”

 

Providence Health & Services serves more than 150,000 children in Oregon each year through its clinics, hospitals and health plans. Providence also provides health care coverage for children

on Medicaid through Providence Health Plan. The mission of Providence highlights its commitment to care for the poor and vulnerable.

 

The 22 pediatric practice sites of the Children’s Health Alliance are among the highest recognized pediatric medical homes in the Pacific Northwest, caring for more than 140,000 children in the Portland, Salem and Vancouver, Wash., area. Over the past 10 years the practice sites of CHA have become national leaders in pediatric clinical quality programs. They have developed a pioneering pediatric population health management technology; enhanced pediatric care management competencies to deliver acclaimed care for high-needs children and their families; and expanded services in such areas as integrated behavioral health, chronic care management and resilience-building approaches to promote sustained health during a child’s lifetime.

 

Under this agreement, the children will be members of the coordinated care organization Health Share of Oregon. The new ACO will manage their care through CHA and Providence.

 

Providence Children’s Health and Children’s Health Alliance are excited about the opportunity to affect the care experience and improve health outcomes for children in our community.

 

 

Pediatric Accountable Care Organization

Jan. 19, 2018 Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)

 

An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is an organized group of health care providers, including doctors, hospitals, and others. They voluntarily come together to be accountable for coordinated, high-quality care for populations of patients.

 

The goal of coordinated care provided by a pediatric ACO is to achieve cohesive and streamlined health management services, ensuring that children, including those with complex care needs, receive high-quality, comprehensive health services to achieve optimal management of their long-term health.

Successful ACOs demonstrate several key competencies and commitments:

 

 

The Children’s Health Alliance (CHA) is a clinically integrated group of independent primary care pediatricians with a culture of improvement aiming to raise the quality of care for children. CHA was established in 1998 because a group of providers recognized the value of focusing on the unique care approaches in pediatric health care. Twenty years later, it includes 125 primary care pediatric providers across five counties in the Portland/Vancouver and Salem metropolitan areas. CHA’s goal is to raise the standard of care across members through collaboration, the spread of evidence-based practices, and mutual accountability affecting all children for whom they provide care. For more information about CHA, please visit www.ch-alliance.org. For more information about quality programs driven by CHA pediatricians, please visit the Children’s Health Foundation at www.ch-foundation.org.

 

The Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) is a 501(c)(3) corporation, which includes pediatrician participants of the Children’s Health Alliance and other children’s care organizations. The CHF leads collaboration across the pediatric community to improve the quality of care for children and families, promote cohesive systems of care for children, raise awareness of children’s health issues, and promote improvement of health and wellness outcomes for children to improve the trajectory of long term health in our community.

 

Providence Children’s Health is a center of excellence for all children – especially for children with special health care needs. More than 150,000 children in Oregon are served each year through Providence’s clinics, hospitals and health plans. Welcoming one in five Oregon babies each year, Providence performs more deliveries than any other health system in Oregon. Two neonatal intensive care units and a pediatric intensive care unit serve the region’s most fragile newborns, children and teens. Providence is the largest provider of emergency care for kids in Oregon and also offers immediate care and virtual visits. A full range of pediatric specialty and subspecialty providers are available around the clock. Education and family support helps every child reach their full potential.