UC San Diego Health and AccentCare Announce Joint Venture for Home Health Care Services

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UC San Diego Health and AccentCare have created a jointly owned home health services agency to serve UC San Diego Health patients in San Diego and surrounding communities. The new agency is designed to provide a comprehensive continuum of care after patients have been discharged from the hospital to facilitate efficient communication, improved safety, and faster healing.

“UC San Diego Health is committed to improving patient care, clinical quality and overall patient experience, even after a patient leaves one of our hospitals,” said Paul Viviano, CEO, UC San Diego Health. “In collaboration with AccentCare, protocols and processes will be established that focus on early interventions to prevent falls, infections and medication errors in the home.”

Under the agreement, UC San Diego Health will be responsible for clinical oversight of post-acute services provided by the new agency while AccentCare will provide day-to-day operational management, including patient intake, staffing and services, such as physical therapy, medical social work and skilled nursing services.

“This is a valuable strategic partnership for AccentCare and UC San Diego Health that directly benefits patients,” said Steve Rodgers, CEO, AccentCare. “The agency will extend UC San Diego Health’s services and expand AccentCare’s community reach with the overall goal of achieving comprehensive care and exceptional health outcomes for our patients.”

The formation of the new post-acute agency aligns with the shared strategic vision of UC San Diego Health and AccentCare to develop innovative approaches to manage and deliver high-quality care across the healthcare continuum. The agency is expected to be fully operational within 12 months.

The new agency will enhance UC San Diego Health’s ability to more efficiently manage inpatient capacity and flow and provide patients with post-acute services that link to their UC San Diego Health physicians for optimal clinical oversight. The partnership will also position UC San Diego Health to better serve diverse populations of patients with chronic diseases while responding to changing reimbursement methodologies.

UC San Diego Health and AccentCare will immediately leverage the agency for support of a new bundled payment initiative with Medicare while also laying the groundwork for future value-based payment opportunities.

About UC San Diego Health
UC San Diego Health, the region's only academic health system, has been ranked #1 in San Diego for four consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. Leapfrog Group has twice named UC San Diego Health to its annual list of Top Hospitals, a distinction given to select hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality. The Leapfrog Top Hospital award is an elite distinction given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. UC San Diego Health has also repeatedly received “A” safety scores from the independent organization.

UC San Diego Health is comprised of UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center (one of only 44  National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country, and the first and only San Diego-based National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® Member Institution), Shiley Eye Institute, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center (opening 2016) in La Jolla, as well as other primary and specialty practices located throughout Southern California. For more information, visit health.ucsd.edu

About AccentCare
AccentCare, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is one of the nation's leaders in post-acute healthcare services. Its 17,000 dedicated professionals provide comprehensive services that range from personal, non-medical care to skilled nursing, rehabilitation, hospice and care management. AccentCare has more than 110 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.