Accountable Care Organization

At Nationwide Children's Hospital we believe that everything matters when it comes to caring for your child. That is why we are the largest pediatric accountable care organization in America – managing the care of 290,000 at-risk children on Medicaid – a concept that is a central component of the new health care law.

 

While discussion around ACOs has centered almost exclusively on the creation of adult ACOs through Medicare, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 calls for funds for Medicaid ACO demonstration projects, including a pediatric ACO demonstration project to begin January 1, 2012.  What are the differences with Medicaid and pediatrics when it comes to ACOs?

Increasing Access to Care through our Physician Hospital Organization
Our Physician Hospital Organization, Partners for Kids, manages the care of 290,000 at-risk children on Medicaid throughout a 37-county region of central and Southeastern Ohio.  Through Partners for Kids, we’ve been able to increase access to care for these children.

Quality and Safety
We’re working as an organization and as a partner in broader efforts to increase quality and improve patient safety in pediatrics with the goal of improving outcomes and decreasing long-term costs of care.

Reducing Preterm Births and Decreasing the Length of Stay in our Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)
We are improving care, reducing NICU length of stay and ultimately cost of care through both prenatal prevention and postnatal interventions.

Wellness Promotion
Our strategic plan has a vision of creating optimal health for every child in our community.  One area of focus under the plan is wellness promotion, which is focused on ensuring that children with special health care needs – facing environmental and/or biological risk factors – reach their full potential.

 

The Full Potential initiative seeks to raise awareness and generate action around critical children's health issues in Nationwide Children's Hospital's base of Frankilin County, Ohio. Led by Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus Public Health and more than 20 community partners, Full Potential was launched in 2008.