OCTOBER 2020 INTERMOUNTAIN INITIATIVES Intermountain, Sanford Health announce intent to merge Merger expected to close in 2021 pending federal and state approvals Intermountain Healthcare, a company at the forefront of value-based and digital healthcare, and Sanford Health, one of the nation’s leading systems in rural healthcare delivery and clinical research, have signed a letter of intent to develop a strategic partnership. “Intermountain and Sanford have a shared vision of the future of healthcare and have the aligned values needed to better serve more communities across the nation,” says Marc Harrison, MD, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare. “This merger enables our organizations to move more quickly to further implement value-based strategies and realize economies of scale. Through coordinated care, increased use of telehealth and digital health services, we will make healthcare more affordable for our communities.” “For more than two decades, we’ve been focused on good growth, with the goal of driving innovation and bringing more affordable and accessible healthcare to the communities we serve,” says Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “Today we’re marking another major milestone in our long history of working to change the course of healthcare across the globe. By coming together with Intermountain Healthcare, we will improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve and strengthen our impact in healthcare delivery and value.” The boards of both not-for-profit organizations approved a resolution to support moving forward with the due diligence process. The organizations will enter this activity with the goal to sign a merger agreement that will bring both health systems together as a model for improving access to high-value healthcare across the U.S. The merger is expected to close in 2021 pending federal and state approvals. The combined organization will employ more than 89,000 people, and operate 70 hospitals, many in rural communities. It will operate 435 clinics across seven states, provide senior care in 233 locations in 24 states, and insure 1.1 million people. The organization will have headquarters in Salt Lake City and corporate offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dr. Harrison will be president and CEO of the combined organization. Krabbenhoft will serve as president emeritus. Both organizations will continue to operate under their current names for the foreseeable future. Existing boards of trustees from both systems will join to form a combined board. A new executive committee of the board will be created with equal representation from members of the Intermountain and Sanford Health boards. Gail Miller, current chair of the Intermountain Board, will serve as board chair for the merged organization. Sanford Health is dedicated to the integrated delivery of healthcare, genomic medicine, senior care and services, global clinics, research and affordable insurance. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, the organization spans 24 states with 48,000 employees, 46 hospitals, 1,500 providers and 366 Good Samaritan Society senior care and living centers. Learn more about Sanford Health’s transformative work to improve the human condition at Sanford Health News. Saltzer Health to join Intermountain Healthcare Saltzer Health provides primary, specialty, and urgent care services Nampa, Idaho-based Saltzer Health, a leading physician group in the Boise area, is joining Intermountain Healthcare. Saltzer Health has been owned by Ball Ventures Ahlquist (BVA), a commercial development and strategic capital investment joint venture, since early 2019. Saltzer Health employs 39 physicians and 39 advanced practice providers serving 102,000 patients annually at eight locations in Idaho’s Canyon and Ada counties, and provides primary, specialty, and urgent care services. It has two clinics and a medical office complex under construction that are scheduled to open in the next few months. Intermountain employs about 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada at its 215 clinics and 24 hospitals. In Idaho, Intermountain’s service area includes a hospital and clinics in the city of Burley. SelectHealth, the insurance arm of Intermountain, has been offering health insurance in the Boise area since 2012 and currently serves more than 104,000 Idaho residents across the state. “We’re excited to join together with Saltzer Health,” said Marc Harrison, MD, Intermountain president and CEO. “Both organizations are like-minded and share a commitment to keeping people well and providing the communities we serve with high-quality, value-based care. We’ll bring together unique strengths to provide extraordinary health services to patients.” “Intermountain and Saltzer Health desire the same thing—to provide great access to the highest quality care at an affordable cost,” said Ed Castledine, CEO of Saltzer Health. “This association with Intermountain will enable Saltzer Health to better serve patients throughout our community,” said John Kaiser, MD, vice president and chief medical officer of Saltzer Health. “Intermountain has an excellent reputation for clinical excellence and health equity.” “This is great news for Saltzer Health and the residents of the Treasure Valley,” said Tommy Ahlquist, MD, co-owner of BVA, the current owner of Saltzer Health. “The acquisition will enable Saltzer Health to align with an outstanding organization committed to value-based care and innovation.” “We are so proud of the hard work of the Saltzer Health team and foresee an extraordinary future in partnership with Intermountain,” said Cortney Liddiard, CEO of Ball Ventures and co-owner of BVA. “The goal remains to make a difference by providing access to affordable healthcare.” Saltzer Health providers will continue serving patients as they do now, working collaboratively with Idaho hospitals, physicians, and health insurance plans. Founded by Dr. Joseph Saltzer in 1961, Saltzer Health provides quality healthcare in Idaho’s Treasure Valley with a focus on transparency and affordability with providers patients come to know and trust. Researchers develop new tool for COVID-19 patients Clinical tool identifies, diagnoses those at high risk of serious inflammatory condition Researchers at Intermountain Healthcare have developed a new clinical tool to accurately identify and diagnose COVID-19 patients who are at high risk of developing a serious inflammatory condition that can damage the lungs and other organs. The new tool is a diagnostic clinical score that is used to determine whether patients with the virus are at increased risk of developing the condition, known as hyperinflammatory syndrome. It’s also sometimes referred to as a “cytokine storm” and can cause the immune system to react in an inappropriate and excessive way, causing significant damage to organs. Diagnosing hyperinflammatory syndrome is very important. With the new scoring diagnostic criteria, clinicians can now identify patients early, and ideally prescribe treatments before the condition progresses and causes patients to deteriorate to critical levels. Intermountain researchers studied the accuracy of the diagnostic tool as part of a new study published in the British medical journal, The Lancet Rheumatology. Learn more about the study here. Intermountain partners with Notable Health to expand My Health+ Notable Platform empowers health systems to identify, engage patients in need of care Intermountain Healthcare is partnering with Notable Health to reimagine the manual, repetitive administrative aspects of patient intake and post-visit follow-up into a fully automated, intuitive digital experience. Intermountain is harnessing Notable Health’s platform to digitally transform ambulatory check-ins through mobile registration and virtual clinical intake for both in-person and telemedicine appointments. Available within general internal medicine groups in the Salt Lake City region, over 55 percent of patients from these clinics are now completing their entire digital check-in before their office visit, decreasing check-in time by 25 percent. Intermountain reports an industry-leading 94 percent patient satisfaction rating for their digital check-in and registration experience, including 86 percent for patients 65 and older. Notable extends the capabilities of My Health+, Intermountain’s health app, with digital assistants that automate administrative workflows for staff, streamline the check-in experience for patients, and simplify follow-up for providers. Following an initial deployment that went live in less than one month and results realized across over 100 providers, Intermountain will scale the Notable Platform to support thousands of providers within additional specialties and states across the clinically integrated network in the coming months. Read more here. Intermountain’s Castell helps save Medicare $10 million Savings amount is four times the amount Castell saved Medicare in 2018 The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recently announced the 2019 results for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. In just its second year in the program, Castell Accountable Care (previously Intermountain Accountable Care) received a quality score of 98.88 percent, placing it among the top 5 percent of ACOs nationally for quality. Simultaneously, the Castell ACO generated $10 million in savings for Medicare. The savings amount is four times the amount Castell saved Medicare in