Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare announced Monday that it would partner with Stratus Healthcare, an affiliation of 21 hospitals around Georgia, to develop a clinically integrated network and strengthen access to specialty care.
The two groups also will explore expediting access to Emory Clinics for Stratus affiliates as well as closer collaboration of medical record connectivity for physicians to ensure coordination of care, the two sides said in a release.
“Stratus Healthcare is one of the largest and most successful collaborative healthcare partnerships in the United States,” said Dr. Jonathan Lewin, Emory University's executive vice president of health affairs and CEO of Emory Healthcare. “We look forward to strengthening this well-established network with access to Emory's highly specialized tertiary and quaternary services in order to benefit an even greater number of Georgians with complex healthcare needs."
Formed in 2013, Stratus is a non-equity affiliation of 21 hospitals and 1,500 physicians created to share best practices, develop coordinated information systems and manage the health of populations. Many of the hospitals are small and rural. Stratus was co-founded by Ninfa Saunders, CEO of Navicent Health in Macon, Ga.
Emory is a six-hospital, academic healthcare system with more than 2,000 faculty, employed and network physicians in 70 specialties.
Emory services are meant to help Stratus hospitals take care of community healthcare needs while offering access to Emory's specialty care.
As part of the agreement, Emory will tailor a range of service agreements with Stratus facilities, focusing on telemedicine, clinical research participation, knowledge transfer and education, workforce planning and enhanced clinical service offerings, the release said.
“With Emory Healthcare's extensive specialized medical services and educational strengths, this enhanced collaborative will assist hospitals, health systems and physicians across the region in working together for the development of consistent best medical practices," said Dr. Dean Burke, a Georgia state senator who is chairman of Stratus and chief medical officer at Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Ga.
