To ensure that residents in Clark and Cowlitz counties continue to have the opportunity to receive quality, affordable care in their own communities, The Vancouver Clinic (TVC) and PeaceHealth have formed a new independent practice association (IPA).
The IPA, called Columbia Integrated Network, includes all local TVC and PeaceHealth providers with the intent to add other like-minded providers who embrace the new organization’s shared vision and values.
“Columbia Integrated Network is an innovative arrangement that will enable us to more effectively serve the needs of our patients with enhanced quality and affordability,” said Sharon Crowell, MD, chair of the board for TVC and Columbia Integrated Network. “This is about helping the people who live here receive the right care, right here, in their own community.”
TVC and PeaceHealth have long been aligned, working together for many years to improve the health of our collective communities. And as majority owners of Columbia United Providers (CUP), the two have an 18-year history of successfully and collaboratively providing quality care to Medicaid patients in Clark County.
“The new IPA collaboration helps our organizations and others like us build the infrastructure it will take to continually improve the quality of care and make it as affordable as we can for our area’s patient populations,” said Howard Graman, MD, chief executive officer of PeaceHealth Medical Group.
PeaceHealth selectively engages in joint ventures with prestigious medical groups in each of its communities through its subsidiary, HealthVentures. Columbia Integrated Network will be HealthVentures’ sixth joint venture, and second in southwestern Washington.
“Close collaborations such as Columbia Integrated Network between PeaceHealth/HealthVentures and The Vancouver Clinic are a hallmark of provider organizations who share a common vision to use patients’ and communities’ scarce resources for the good of the entire community,” said Peter Adler, HealthVentures CEO.
Karen Lee will serve as the interim executive director for Columbia Integrated Network and CUP will provide administrative services for Columbia Integrated Network. A six-member physician board, chaired by Dr. Crowell, has been formed to govern the new IPA.
