Emory Healthcare and St. Francis Hospital announced that the organizations have expanded their existing clinical partnership to include added benefits for physicians, patients and the community. Effective immediately, St. Francis Hospital is now affiliated with Emory Healthcare Network, a clinically integrated network that was established in 2011 to improve care coordination and quality outcomes, while lowering health care costs for patients.
 
“St. Francis Hospital’s affiliation with Emory Healthcare Network will help our physicians and providers further improve the delivery and quality of patient-centered, cost-effective care,” said Dan Jones, chief executive officer of St. Francis Hospital. “We are excited to expand our successful partnership with Emory Healthcare and look forward to continuing to advance our mission of Making Communities Healthier by being part of this well-established network.”
 
Emory Healthcare and St. Francis Hospital have had a successful clinical partnership for several years that began with the hospital’s affiliation of its cardiac services program with Emory Clinic’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2016. This partnership has continued to evolve to include expanded cardiothoracic and vascular capabilities, enhanced electrophysiology capabilities, and advanced clinical education and training for nurses and staff, among other things. The physician community associated with St. Francis Hospital joining the Emory Healthcare Network is a natural extension of the work already underway between the two organizations.
 
Under the agreement, St. Francis physicians and providers will have the opportunity to participate in Emory Healthcare Network as a network partner. Network partners have common quality goals and are connected via electronic medical record systems that can be shared among providers. Partners can also participate in group purchasing of medical supplies to lower costs in their practices, while working collaboratively with Emory’s payer partners to reduce health care costs for patients.
 
“The Emory Healthcare Network has a proven track record, through the collaborative work of its providers, of consistently lowering the medical cost trend while still improving overall quality of care,” says Joel Shu, MD, Emory Healthcare Network Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer. “St. Francis Hospital shares our commitment to this important work, and we look forward to further strengthening our network as the hospital’s dedicated physicians and providers join this effort.”