Five recipients win The Alliance health transformation award

MADISON, Wis. (May 17, 2017) ─ Five awards were given to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to transforming health care in their community when The Alliance held its Annual Seminar on May 16.

This year’s award recipients are:

• Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, Wis.

Gundersen Health System has changed how traditional health care services have been sold and delivered in northwestern Wisconsin. Gundersen provides quality care; works to be a collaborative partner with employers and the community; makes cost-conscious decisions; and has won national attention for its environmental practices.

Gundersen Health System is being recognized for exploring new approaches to delivering and paying for care. They are improving the quality of care using a systematic, process-oriented approach that can be adapted and implemented by other organizations. And they are collaborating with other organizations to develop solutions to significant health care problems as well as advancing their own understanding of how to engage consumers.

• John Nygren, Wisconsin State Representative, Marinette, Wis.

Representative John Nygren represents northeastern Wisconsin’s 89^th Assembly district and pushed the state of Wisconsin to recognize the opioid addiction problem before it became a national headline. Rep. Nygren learned about the high cost of opioid addiction when his daughter nearly died of a heroin overdose. Her struggles with addiction started with the opioid medication OxyContin and eventually led to heroin.

Rep. Nygren started the Heroin, Opiate Prevention and Education (HOPE) Agenda, which has led to significant legislative awareness and policy changes that aim to strengthen Wisconsin efforts to counter the epidemic of opioid abuse. As part of the HOPE Agenda, Rep. Nygren has successfully introduced 17 bills since 2013 to help combat the opioid addition problem.

Rep.Nygren is being honored for improving the quality of care using a systematic and process oriented approach that can be adapted and implemented by other organizations.

• OpenNotes, Catherine DesRoches, Brookline, Mass.

OpenNotes is a growing national movement that invites patients, families and clinicians to come together and improve communication through shared clinician notes and fully transparent medical records.

Today, more than 11 million U.S. patients have access to their notes. One early study showed that OpenNotes has the potential to decrease costs, with patients who read their notes doing a better job of managing their medical regimen and taking medication as prescribed.

OpenNotes is being recognized for exploring new approaches to delivering care as well as paying for care; and for improving the quality of care using a systematic, process-oriented approach that can be adapted and implemented by other organizations. It also allows other organizations to develop solutions and advance our understanding of how to engage consumers in making better health care decisions.

• Miniature Precision Components, Walworth, Wis.

Miniature Precision Components (MPC) is a manufacturing company that produces automotive parts. Based in Walworth, Wis. with nine other locations they consistently create opportunities to engage consumers in decisions about better health and better health care.

Over the years, MPC has:

• • Created a robust wellness program;
  • Proven its ability to help employees adopt healthy behaviors;
  • Modeled good employee communications; and
  • Offered incentives to capture greater savings through the QualityPath program. More than 12 MPC employees have used QualityPath for joint replacements, which is the highest participation achieved by any QualityPath employer.

MPC is being recognized for both advancing our understanding of how to engage consumers in making better decisions about their care and for providing extraordinary leadership among employers related to health benefits.

• Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ), Madison, Wis.

The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) is pushing the envelope to measure, publicly report and improve the quality of care for the people of Wisconsin. WCHQ has made it a priority to meet the needs of purchasers and consumers by making changes to measures in their portfolio to accommodate the interests of purchasers. They also have committed to adopting measures prioritized by a group of purchasers and payers. To broaden their efforts they are now exploring the possibility of including delivery systems in other states.

WCHQ is being honored for meeting two award criteria: improving the quality of care using a systematic, process-oriented approach that can be adapted and implemented by other organizations, and collaborating with other organizations to develop innovative solutions to significant health care problems.

The Alliance moves health care forward by controlling costs, improving quality, and engaging individuals in their health. Members include more than 240 self-funded employers and insurance trusts covering more than 85,000 individuals in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The Alliance uses the purchasing power of cooperative members to negotiate with and provide access to an extensive network of doctors and hospitals paid to improve quality by performing better not doing more.