Enhancing Access as the Region’s Largest and Most Comprehensive Heart Team
To enhance access for those living in Central and Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Bellin Health and ThedaCare announce a partnership with the vision of creating the region’s largest and most comprehensive heart care team. The group will be comprised of nearly 50 cardiology providers covering nine hospitals and almost 20 outreach centers across 17 counties in Wisconsin and Michigan.
“Given that heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for men and women today, our communities deserve the most extensive team of cardiology physicians, surgeons, advanced practice clinicians and other professionals,” said Imran Andrabi, MD, President and CEO of ThedaCare. “By combining the talent and resources of our two organizations, patients and families will have access to highly specialized cardiovascular care experts and advanced technology.”
The partnership creates a single, collaborative team of providers with a common administrative leadership structure to leverage the quality and expertise of both entities, and align around a goal of helping people live healthier lives through patient-focused, comprehensive cardiovascular care.
“This partnership is an evolution of the long-standing relationship between our two organizations, and complements our shared vision of providing high-quality care for our patients,” said Chris Woleske President & CEO Bellin Health. “Bellin and ThedaCare have a long history of serving the people of this region and it’s important for us to shape and lead heart care to provide the right care at the right time in the right place, now and in the future.”
In 2008, the organizations teamed up to form an accountable care organization, known as Bellin-ThedaCare Healthcare Partners. In three years, the partnership produced $14 million in savings, while improving the quality of care provided to the Medicare recipients. In 2017, a new partnership between Bellin, ThedaCare and HealthPartners formed to create Robin by HealthPartners, which the systems use to self-insure employees and their dependents. Robin also offers group health plans for large and small employers, as well as Medicare options and insurance plans.
Patients can be confident in having access to a full-spectrum of cardiology services by a team of providers from Bellin and ThedaCare who have ready access to patients’ complete electronic health records to coordinate and complement patient treatment to achieve the best outcomes. Combining to form a larger group of heart care providers will allow the team to become more specialized, bringing new procedures to patients not seen before in the area including MitraClip and Watchman, which are enhancing our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve.