Kirkland, Wash.-based EvergreenHealth and Bellevue, Wash.-based Overlake Medical Center have formed a joint venture to improve access and coordination of care to residents in the Puget Sound area.
The joint venture, Eastside Health Alliance, will allow the health systems to collaborate on cardiac, neuroscience and thoracic surgery services, develop a coordinated quality program to share best practices and form Eastside Health Network, a clinically integrated network to standardize quality improvement, patient care management and clinical protocol development. Additionally, the Eastside Health Network will participate in existing and new ACOs in the region.
As part of the agreement, the organizations will remain individual entities. The joint venture will not impact either health systems' governance structure, administration or tax-exempt status. Both organizations will also be responsible for electing representatives to the new venture's board of directors.
"Providing our community with access to more highly coordinated subspecialty care will serve to improve the health and well being of the entire Eastside," said EvergreenHealth CEO Robert Malte. "EvergreenHealth and Overlake Medical Center have a history of working together, and in collaboration with independent providers through our clinically integrated networks. Our new joint venture will further this collaboration and help us simultaneously improve clinical outcomes for our patients and reduce the per capita cost of care for the benefit of patients, businesses and our region."