A new name for a collaboration among the state's leading health care systems. Aspirus, Aurora Health Care, Bellin Health, Gunderson Health System, ProHealth Care , ThedaCare and UW Health announced they have put a name on a recent partnership.
"about health" was picked as the new name. The organizations agreed in October to work together but hadn't put a headline name on the effort.
Aspirus President and CEO Matthew Heywood says the idea is to work together...
"....we're trying to work together under the new Accountable Care Act, trying to work towards an accountable care organization. We are working together to try to try to figure how we can improve the health care in our communities without having to merge...."
Consultants said the new name reflected the group's goals...
".....really what it's all about is improving the health of your communities.That's how we came up with the name 'abouthealth'. (The letters)are purposely non-capitalized. It's about the health in our communities and that is the most important thing. It's not about our name..."
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, encouraged the formation of these types of arrangements. The members have the same electronic health record platforms, and give patients access to 47 hospitals and more than 7,000 providers.
The partnership covers about 90 percent of of the state's population. The group agreed the effort was all about improving the health in their communities, thus, 'abouthealth'. Heywood says the collaboration will affect the local communities by being able to share best practices among the seven partners.
