Dive Brief:
- Catholic health system Ascension Health and Evolution Health have created a joint venture to provide post-acute care services to patients in communities served by Ascension. Evolution, based in Colorado, is an integrated medical practice that specializes in providing home care. Ascension is the nation's largest non-profit hospital system.
- Services provided will include home and hospice care and infusion therapy. Treatment will be provided in patients' homes and healthcare facilities, assisting in Ascension's goal of offering services across the continuum of care, particularly for low-income populations.
- The collaboration will begin at the end of 2014 in five of Ascension's communities. Revenue during the first year is expected to be at least $75 million. Expansion through the remainder of Ascension's 23 communities is slated to continue through 2017. This is not Ascension's first joint venture with a for-profit organization, according to a company spokesperson.
Dive Insight:
This current move toward post-acute care is a natural extension of Ascension's growth into areas like senior care. In July, the organization created a senior care division that would manage its post-acute services. At the time, there was no strategic plan set for how it would expand. There were plans, however, to work in markets where the organization already had a presence.
"This agreement furthers Ascension's focus on delivering person-centered care to individuals in a variety of settings, which is key to our efforts to manage the health of patient populations," Anthony R. Tersigni, president and CEO of Ascension, told Business Wire. "Providing service in the home and through alternative facilities to people in need of care, including those who are poor and vulnerable, is one way we extend our ministry beyond hospital walls and reach individuals and families where and when they need us."