HC4HCR: Checking In With Ascension, Denver Health

This week, Kaiser Health News shined the spotlight on two high-performing health systems. KHN talked to Ascension Health President and CEO Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, and Denver Health CEO Patricia A. Gabow, MD, about the current health care reform debate, and what reform will mean for their health systems.We've highlighted both these health systems on this blog (here, here, here). Read more about them on the Health CEOs for Health Reform site.

Ascension Health is the nation's largest Catholic and largest nonprofit health care system, with over 60 hospitals in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Ascension Health serves patients through a network of services, including acute care services, long-term care, community health services, psychiatric, rehabilitation and residential care.

Dr. Tersigni told KHN that health care reform should feature a strong focus on covering the uninsured, then work on the other important issues facing U.S. health care, improving quality and controlling cost. For many hospitals, the cost of treating the uninsured is a huge strain. Uninsured patients tend to utilize costly emergency room treatment when serious health problems arise, as they lack access to the regular primary care visits that might have prevented the emergency in the first place. KHN reports that Ascension Health's bad debt from treating uninsured and underinsured patients grew by $167 million, or 23 percent over the past year as the economy worsened. He said,

We're concerned with making sure people have insurance rather than the dollar amount. We're taking care of these people anyway. We feel focused on let's get everyone 100% access, 100% covered. Then worry about how to make that work.

Dr. Tersigni is optimistic about reform. He believes we're closer to reform than we've been in over 60 years, and to miss this opportunity would be a tremendous waste.

Denver Health (which KHN points out is just a few hundred miles from the high-performing health community in Grand Junction) is an "integrated" health care network consisting of hospitals, clinics, and other community-based health services, such as correctional care and a 24-hour medical call center. To promote quality and lower cost, Denver Health utilizes health information technology and has followed the "LEAN" model to create a high-value efficient system which, according to Dr. Gabow, emphasizes getting five things right.

...Five rights -- the right physical environment, built for quality and safety and to support employees, patients and families; the right person in the right job; the right communication and culture; the right processes; and the right rewards.

Dr. Gabow believes national health reformers could learn from Denver Health's system's accomplishments. She told KHN,

To date, since 2006, we have saved $27 million by eliminating waste and making all the processes better. We did that without laying off anyone or cutting any care to the uninsured.

Health CEOs for Health Reform is a New America coalition of health industry leaders who believe that health reform is an urgent priority. Their leadership provides positive examples and shows that high quality, sustainable health reform is possible.