Atlantic Health System, CentraState announce clinical affiliation

Partnership designed to enhance community health care quality and access

Atlantic Health System and CentraState Healthcare System on Tuesday announced a clinical affiliation that will provide enhanced access to high-quality specialty health care services in Central Jersey.

The affiliation is intended to accelerate the growth of CentraState’s oncology and neuroscience programs through linkages with Atlantic Health System’s nationally recognized specialists and coordination of clinical and research activities. In addition, both systems will share clinical expertise and best practices, and coordinate patient care through a common technology platform.

According to CentraState, it has worked closely with Atlantic Health, initially as a member of the statewide Healthcare Transformation Consortium (HTC) that was launched in 2018. The independent health system collaborative shares expertise to improve access to health care for covered employees and dependents, while reducing costs.

More recently, CentraState became a participating member of the Atlantic Health System Cancer Care Research network, as well as a primary affiliate of the Atlantic Health Cancer Consortium (AHCC) National Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP).

Moving forward, the organizations will build on the initial success of HTC to develop a regional Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) to provide coordinated care.

“The goal of this agreement is to introduce clinical enhancements that will allow CentraState to increase the breadth of services we can offer to the patients in our service area for complex illnesses like cancer and neurological disorders,” said John Gribbin, CentraState president and chief executive officer. “Atlantic Health matched the profile and embraced the shared philosophy we were looking for in a partnership more than any other potential affiliate. We are pleased to partner with them in bringing advanced clinical services to our community normally found only in academic medical centers outside our community.”

In addition to having a history of collaboration in their respective regions, both organizations share similar philosophies and approaches to affordability, access to care, physician engagement and innovation.

“We are excited to make care more accessible for patients throughout north and central New Jersey by enhancing our relationship with CentraState,” said Brian Gragnolati, president and CEO, Atlantic Health System.  “As demonstrated through the success of our ongoing collaborations, uniting the strengths and talents of our great teams delivers better experiences and outcomes for all of our patients.”

In addition to a sharing of expenses and investments, CentraState and Atlantic Health System have agreed to work together initially in three key areas.

Cancer Services

The Statesir Cancer Center at CentraState provides a strong foundation of community cancer care in the region, from diagnosis to treatment. The affiliation with Atlantic Health will provide community oncologists with greater access to that system’s resources, expertise and award-winning cancer care programs, including clinical trials via participation in NCORP, subspecialty services and other breakthrough cancer treatments.

CentraState is a community site of the Atlantic Health Cancer Consortium (AHCC), the first and only New Jersey-based National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). Covering 73 percent of the state’s population, AHCC NCORP partners with leading health care organizations across the state to significantly improve patient access to clinical trials.

As a Clinical Affiliate, CentraState will also benefit from inclusion in grant applications, broadened clinical leadership and overall physician alignment across the organizations.

Neurosciences

With one of the largest Multiple Sclerosis (MS) programs in the state and programs to manage Parkinson’s disease, CentraState’s partnership with the leading provider of neuroscience services in the northern New Jersey region – Atlantic Health – will further enhance neuroscience diagnostic quality and care in Central Jersey. Atlantic Health will support MS research opportunity expansion and enhance access for CentraState patients to specialists’ capabilities.

Atlantic Health will also expand access to its telestroke and neuro-hospitalist programs for area patients, provide additional physician experts in the areas of Movement and Parkinson’s disease, and provide greater access to diagnostic technology at Overlook Medical Center.

Information Technology

Atlantic Health System and CentraState will collaborate in the planning and development of Information Technology Networks with a goal of sharing clinical and technical expertise and data via a common platform. Data analytics provided through Atlantic Health System will enable the organizations and physicians to more effectively coordinate patient care, enhance participation in accountable care plans and more quickly introduce and coordinate population health management initiatives.

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