Salina Regional Among Five Founding Health Systems in New Kansas Hospital Alliance

Salina Regional Health Center is one of five founding health systems behind a new Kansas healthcare collaboration designed to allow independent hospitals to share resources, data and services while retaining their individual identities and local governance.

Astra Health was announced Sept. 8 by Salina Regional Health Center, Amberwell Health, LMH Health, Newman Regional Health and The University of Kansas Health System.

According to the organizations, the five systems collectively serve more than 500,000 patients each year and reach patients from nearly every Kansas county.

The stated goal of Astra Health is to improve clinical outcomes, strengthen access to care and develop more affordable healthcare options while allowing the participating systems to remain independent.

Salina Regional Received $932,310 Grant Connected to Astra Health

The creation of Astra Health is also tied directly to a state-administered rural healthcare grant awarded to Salina Regional Health Center.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced May 29 that Salina Regional Health Center received $932,310 through the Regional Partnerships Grant Program, part of the Kansas Rural Health Transformation Program.

KDHE's project description states that five founding providers would form “AstraHealth Kansas,” described by the state as a shared-services organization providing benchmarked clinical data, analytics dashboards and legal and governance infrastructure to rural hospitals across Kansas.

KDHE awarded approximately $79.1 million to 39 Kansas organizations through the Regional Partnerships Grant Program and Rural Emergency Hospital Conversion/Transformative Capital Investment Program.

What Astra Health Plans to Do

According to the Sept. 8 announcement, participating hospitals will initially exchange information and resources to develop shared quality measurements and tools intended to support patient care and reduce costs for patients and employers.

The participating systems say the collaboration is intended to give independent hospitals access to some of the scale and shared capabilities available to larger health systems while allowing each organization to retain its own identity and independence.

LMH Health, one of the founding members, said Astra Health plans to coordinate clinical services, share expertise and pursue new healthcare delivery models.

One planned area of work is direct-to-employer healthcare options intended to provide employers with lower-cost healthcare choices while improving access and affordability for employees and their families.

Salina Regional Says Local Control Will Remain

Salina Regional Health Center President and CEO Joel Phelps said the partnership is intended to expand the resources available to the health systems without eliminating local decision-making.

“Astra Health brings together Amberwell Health, LMH Health, Newman Regional Health, Salina Regional Health Center and The University of Kansas Health System to leverage shared expertise, resources and clinical capabilities while preserving the independence, local governance and community focus of each organization,” Phelps said in the hospital's announcement.

Phelps said the collaboration could expand access to specialty and acute care, advance quality and innovation and improve the long-term sustainability of independent healthcare systems.

“This is collaboration without consolidation,” Phelps said.

Connection to Existing Kansas Hospital Network

Astra Health also plans to work with the Kansas Clinical Improvement Collaborative, or KCIC.

According to the Astra Health announcement, KCIC was founded in 2016 as part of The University of Kansas Health System Care Collaborative and currently includes 49 hospitals and two independent physician practices across 50 Kansas counties.

Astra Health said it will complement that network through management services and investments.

LMH Health said Astra Health will also explore opportunities involving clinical integration, population health, employer partnerships, digital health and coordinated specialty services.

The organizations have described Astra Health as a shared-services collaboration rather than a hospital merger.

For Salina Regional, the arrangement puts the Salina-based health system among the five founding members establishing the new organization, alongside Amberwell Health, LMH Health, Newman Regional Health and The University of Kansas Health System.