DENVER– Trinity Health, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Catholic health systems, and Denver-based Strive Health, the national leader in value-based kidney care, announced a collaborative effort to deliver high-quality, whole-person care for Loyola Physician Partners patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).
Loyola Physician Partners is a clinically integrated regional network formed by Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health. Loyola Medicine is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago’s western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, and a team of primary care and specialty care physicians at over 15 Chicago-area locations; and a large ambulatory network of clinics offering primary and specialty care. Strive Health will work together with Loyola Physician Partners to pilot specialized population health programs and capabilities to serve CKD and ESKD patients in the greater Chicago area. The goal of the pilot program is to deliver a new clinical care model that helps patients slow the progression of the disease and preserve their kidney function as long as possible.
The CDC estimates that kidney disease affects 37 million adults in the United States, including more than 38% of those over 65 years old. Kidney disease drives $410 billion in unmanaged annual medical spend, demonstrating the need for earlier intervention and specialized care coordination.
“The Strive team is honored to have the opportunity to work with the Loyola Physician Partners patients and practitioners to begin our kidney care journey with Trinity Health,” said Chris Riopelle, co-founder and CEO of Strive Health.
For decades, kidney care has focused almost entirely on end-stage kidney disease, when a patient’s options are typically limited to dialysis or a transplant. Using predictive analytics and machine learning, Strive’s technology can gather data from various of sources to gain a holistic view of the patient’s experience. Then Strive’s Kidney Heroes™ interdisciplinary clinical care team including nurse practitioners, dietitians, pharmacists, care coordinators and licensed clinical social workers uses that information to gain a better understanding about the patient’s risk of hospitalization or the progression of their disease. Team members serve as an extension of the patient’s physician to help manage both kidney disease and comorbid conditions, such as diabetes, that can impact a patient’s overall health. The result is less frequent hospitalizations, fewer readmissions, lower costs and better outcomes.
“Loyola Physician Partners is proud to add specialized kidney care services to our population health programming, both to improve outcomes for our patients, as well as providing additional support to our providers,” said Keith Veselik, MD, vice president and chief medical officer of population health at Loyola Medicine.
