Alliant Health Solutions, Inc., Completes Double Merger with ESRD Networks & establishes Alliant Quality Kidney Collaborative...
December 22 2014 - 02:16PM
Business Wire
Alliant Health Solutions (AHS), a nonprofit family of companies
serving public and private partners to increase the quality,
effectiveness, and accessibility of healthcare, today announced the
completion of mergers with two End Stage Renal Disease Networks
(ESRD Networks), End Stage Renal Disease Network of Texas, Inc.
(ESRD Network 14) and the Southeastern Kidney Council, Inc. (ESRD
Network 6). With these mergers AHS is establishing the Alliant
Quality Kidney Collaborative (AQKC). The two ESRD Networks, while
retaining their independent boards and organizational structures,
will join existing AHS subsidiary Network 8, Inc. (ESRD Network 8)
under AQKC. AHS will leverage quality improvement capabilities and
administrative infrastructure to accelerate quality improvement for
patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal
disease (ESRD) and their families.
The Alliant Quality Kidney Collaborative will cover three ESRD
Networks which serve populations with very similar dialysis and
transplant patient demographics and provider characteristics. AQKC
will boost the commitment to offer comprehensive, patient-centered
improvements in quality of care along a continuum that will impact
patients in the three Networks’ jurisdictions, Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
“The combined expertise and capabilities under AQKC will provide
additional opportunities for collaboration, coordination and
efficiencies. But most importantly, AQKC will amplify the impact of
quality improvement initiatives resulting in strategic advantages
primed to benefit our customers,” said Dennis White President &
CEO of AHS.
Southeastern Kidney Council (ESRD Network 6), a nonprofit
corporation located in Raleigh, NC, became the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) ESRD contractor for Georgia, North
and South Carolina in 1988 through two predecessor organizations
that participated in the ESRD Network program since 1978. ESRD
Network 6 promotes patient and family engagement and empowerment
through an established network of partnerships with practitioners
and allied healthcare practitioners within the Network 6 service
area.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing collaborative, productive
partnership with Alliant; formalizing this relationship will
provide resources and opportunities to allow us to build additional
partnerships and expand our impact,” said Dr. Barry I. Freedman,
Southeastern Kidney Council Chair.
End Stage Renal Disease of Texas, Inc. shares a similar mission
to support quality care through patient services, education,
quality improvement, and information management. ESRD Network 14
also boasts a successful tenure as the CMS ESRD contractor for
Texas since 1978. Dr. Charles Orji, Chairman of ESRD Network 14
assures the patients, staff and partners in Texas that the
transition will not impact the usual course of business, he states,
“We will remain Texas-based, working with Texas physicians and
practitioners while expanding our resources and partnerships.”
“Under AQKC, the Networks will be more empowered to pursue the
strategic objectives of CMS in a more efficient manner. We
incorporate patient-centeredness as a core value in our quality
improvement efforts and these mergers increase our capacity to
deliver on this promise,” said Jerry Fuller, Network 8 Executive
Director.
AHS provides corporate guidance and support to its subsidiaries
resulting in a reduction in administrative burdens and increased
value for the customers. The ESRD Networks will retain their local
identity, with current staff continuing operations while utilizing
expanded resources and expertise provided by the AHS merger.
“Our corporate values, competencies and cultures complement each
other,” said Dennis White, President & CEO of AHS, “through our
collaborative efforts, innovative approaches to quality improvement
will be actively spread to further efforts to successfully engage
beneficiaries, providers, professional associations, and other
stakeholders in pursuit of better health, better care, and
increased value. Through the collective knowledge and expertise of
AQKC, the three ESRD Networks will be better positioned to address
areas of CMS Quality Strategy focus, such as patient and family
engagement and health disparities.”
About Alliant Health Solutions, Inc.
Alliant Health Solutions (AHS) is a professional services
organization dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and
accessibility of health care. AHS, consists of a family of
companies that includes Alliant Quality – The Medicare Quality
Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for
Georgia and North Carolina, Alliant ASO, Alliant GMCF, and Alliant
Integrity. As a leading provider of custom health solutions, we are
committed to providing the most efficient, effective and highest
quality services, including utilization management, program
integrity and quality improvement. For more information about AHS
and its efforts to improve health care quality, please visit
www.allianthealth.org.
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Alliant Health SolutionsMaxine Elliott,
1-678-527-3489Fax: 1-678-527-3589Director, Marketing
and Communicationsmaxine.elliott@allianthealth.org