October 6, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adena Health System and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center announced today an expansion of their affiliation in an ongoing effort to make quality health care more available and cost-effective for residents of south central and southern Ohio.
While the two health systems will remain independent, they’ll expand their existing collaboration to develop additional care options for people within Adena’s service area who will benefit from highly-specialized treatment. The agreement also will create new research and educational opportunities for both organizations.
“Our strategy has long been to provide quality, trusted, close-to-home care for patients in our region and, through this expanded partnership with a renowned health care entity such as Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, we can add specialty care benefits for patients while at the same time keeping that care local,” said Adena President and CEO Jeff Graham. “Each organization is deeply committed to providing excellence in quality and safe care for the people in the communities we serve. This partnership will bring a combination of expertise and resources together toward that goal benefiting our patients and our staff.”
The affiliation will allow both health care systems to identify best practices and develop shared strategies to best meet community health needs. It will also expand the ability to implement wellness and preventive care programs to address issues impacting the general health of the overall populations served by Adena and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Such general health issues are identified in local Community Health Needs Assessments performed every three years under terms of the Affordable Care Act, with the most recent southern Ohio assessments conducted in 2019 including conditions such as obesity, lung cancer, poor nutrition and addiction.
The partnership will also explore ways to utilize an expanded roster of physician resources, will look to improve the quality and efficiency of both organizations through developments in patient service lines and administrative improvements, and will allow the two organizations to work together in meeting health care industry challenges in population-based health care delivery and payment strategies in both clinical care and public health prevention and awareness efforts.
Among the most significant outcomes with the expanded partnership will be Adena’s ability to work with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center on the streamlining of its electronic medical records into a single system expected to improve accuracy and simplicity in billing, referrals and other recordkeeping areas.
“We look forward to expanding patient access to the unparalleled level of care academic health centers can provide,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for Health Affairs at The Ohio State University and CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “Through this collaboration with Adena, we have the opportunity to create unique health care solutions that are designed to meet the needs of patients in Chillicothe and other south central Ohio communities.”
One of the nation’s leading academic health centers, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, offers health care services in virtually every specialty and subspecialty in medicine. Thousands of patients come here each month for treatments and services they can’t find anywhere else. Providing access to health care information is central to its research, education and patient care mission. The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is dedicated to improving health in Ohio and across the world through innovation in research, education and patient care.
Adena Health System is an independent, not-for-profit and locally controlled health care organization serving the needs of nine counties in south central and southern Ohio. Adena provides specialty services, including robotic surgery, open heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, cancer care and advanced orthopedic procedures. Based in Chillicothe, Ohio, the health system includes three hospitals, six regional clinics and multiple primary care and specialty clinics.
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Media Contact: Serena Smith, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, 614-293-3737, Serena.Smith@osumc.edu
Media Contact: Maria Smith, Adena Health System, 740-701-0983, msmith4@adena.org