November 2013
President & CEO
Sun Health and Sun Health Foundation
While most of the nation ponders how federal health care legislation will affect them, at Sun Health this month we celebrate a nationally recognized community health program that has benefited nearly 2,000 west valley residents. In less than two years, Sun Health Care Transitions has educated individuals about healthier ways to live, developed enhanced medication regimens and prevented most participants from being readmitted to the hospital for the same illness.
Our team celebrated its second anniversary by receiving a second consecutive “Outstanding Leadership in Population Health Award” from the Care Continuum Alliance (CCA). Representing more than 200 health companies, organizations and individual providers committed to improving the health of populations, the CCA focuses on raising care quality, improving health outcomes and reducing costs for individuals affected by chronic disease.
Sun Health was honored in the “Advancing Accountable Care” category for its successful collaboration with Banner Health “…toward Community Health and Wellness.” The presentation was made at the CCA’s national meeting held last month in Scottsdale. While it’s great to be recognized, the program’s true value is for the patients who have transformed their lifestyles and avoided readmission to the hospital.
Fewer than seven percent of patients participating in this free program have been readmitted, compared to a 20-percent national average among Medicare beneficiaries. As one of 102 pilot programs designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Care Transitions is demonstrating on a national level how to help individuals take control of their own health.
The Sun Health Care Transitions program is just the beginning for Sun Health. Using the “population health” model, our vision is to improve the health of an entire population through a broad range of programs. In addition to our medication management program, we have a new Memory Care Navigator program, which assists patients and families affected by memory loss. And soon we will open the Sun Health Center for Health & Well-Being, supporting community members with chronic conditions related to cardiology, neurology, diabetes and lung disease.
We greatly appreciate the trust you have placed in Sun Health. This trust enables us to invest in innovative programs that have received national recognition, but more importantly, West Valley neighbors are living healthier – right here in our own backyard.
