Published on August 11, 2010

St. Vincent's to offer worksite clinics

Through a partnership with Comprehensive Health Services Inc., one of the nation’s largest providers of on-site health centers, St. Vincent’s will provide major Jacksonville employers an integrated health care delivery model.

The cornerstone of the partnership with Reston, Va.-based CHS is to provide health improvement programs to large and mid-sized employers through a combination of on-site health centers and high-quality provider networks, outpatient diagnostic centers and hospital-based services.

St. Vincent’s CEO Moody Chisholm said the partnership will bring a needed service to the city’s employers.

“This benefits the employee by way of convenience and the employer with a gain in productivity,” Chisholm said.

The model will offer an alternative for employers faced with escalating costs associated with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic conditions that produce double-digit premium increases.

St. Vincent’s said the clinics will coordinate care through the hospital and the patient’s existing primary care physician to improve health and cost outcomes. St. Vincent’s will refer patients who do not have an existing primary care doctor, and likely aid the hospital’s efforts to expand its primary care services.

“We believe that the on-site health center is increasingly becoming the patient-centered medical home for large and mid-size employers,” said Stuart Clark, CHS executive vice president. “By teaming with St. Vincent’s, and with the extensive and high-quality services it has in the Jacksonville community, we believe employers here have a decisive opportunity to positively impact employee health status and cost. To truly address patient health trends, it takes a coordinated effort of community health resources, and we believe that an on-site health center can serve as a critical part of this solution.”