Dignity Health to Anchor Medicaid Transformation Project

San Francisco, CA – Aug. 22, 2018 – Dignity Health today announced it will co-lead the Medicaid Transformation Project to advance care specifically for the Medicaid population by scaling digital innovations for these communities.

The two-year Project, led by Andy Slavitt, former acting administrator of CMS and founder and general partner at Town Hall Ventures, and AVIA, will implement innovative solutions to improve health for underserved individuals and families across the U.S. The 17 participating health systems span 21 states and have more than 53,000 hospital beds.

“Healthcare today must be consumer-centric, and engage patients with personalized experiences,” said Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Dignity Health. “Together, we must bring down healthcare costs in order to provide access for the most vulnerable communities. It is my hope that our collaboration will unleash new avenues that bring down barriers to care and improve the overall health of our communities.”

Dignity Health is one of five health systems leading the work, bringing to the project experience innovating to bring down the cost of care as one of the largest not-for-profit providers of Medicaid services in California. The health care organizations will collaborate and share best practices in order to address the needs of this vulnerable population in the areas of behavioral health, substance use disorders, women and infant care, and avoidable emergency department visits.

“We are honored to partner with this powerhouse group of health systems and be an accelerant for the innovative work they’re doing to help vulnerable populations every day,” said AVIA President Linda Finkel. “Dignity Health has already started significant work with the Medicaid Transformation project in Bakersfield to address the social determinants of health. The other 16 health systems and Dignity Health are poised to scale sustainable care models that will significantly improve the health of the underserved across the country. We are deeply privileged to be entrusted with this meaningful work and to partner with Dignity Health.”

“It is incumbent upon health systems to drive innovation for all communities and all individuals –

regardless of age, income, race, insurance coverage, or health status,” said Rich Roth, chief strategic innovation officer at Dignity Health. “As health care changes and new technologies are developed, a collaboration of this caliber will help create systems, models, and processes that are sustainable and scalable to impact change for our communities.”

About Dignity Health
Dignity Health is one of the nation's largest health care systems. As of June 30, 2017, Dignity Health operated more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging and surgery centers, home health, and primary care clinics in 22 states, through its network of more than 10,000 physicians and 60,000 employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In its fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, Dignity Health provided $2.6 billion in charitable care and services. More information on Dignity Health is available at www.dignityhealth.org.

About AVIA

AVIA leads a network of health systems working together to innovate and transform. AVIA Innovator Network members solve pressing challenges with digital solutions that deliver financial and clinical results. AVIA provides strategic focus and a collaborative approach to accelerate innovation.  Learn more at aviahealthinnovation.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

###

Contact:
Joann Wardrip
Dignity Health
(415) 438-5543

Aaron Murphy
Edelman
(415) 229-3331