St. Luke's ACO Selected as a Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization

Chesterfield, Mo. , February 28, 2018

St. Luke’s ACO, a subsidiary of St. Luke’s Hospital, has been selected as one of 124 new Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), ensuring high-quality, coordinated care for Medicare beneficiaries.

Through the Shared Savings Program, St. Luke’s ACO will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare beneficiaries with high-quality care through enhanced care coordination. As an ACO, St. Luke’s Medical Group physicians, St. Luke’s Hospital, and its outpatient services and skilled nursing facility, St. Luke’s Surrey Place, are jointly accountable for the care of patients.

“The goal of St. Luke’s ACO is to keep people healthy by educating patients and increasing the focus on preventing disease and early detection of disease through enhanced care delivery,” said Christine M. Candio, RN, FACHE, St. Luke’s Hospital president and chief executive officer. “Creating an ACO helps St. Luke’s be a good steward of resources across our care continuum and fulfill our mission of improving the lives of our patients.”

The ACO also supports physicians in caring for patients by making sure physicians have the most up-to-date information about their patients. For patients, this coordination will likely result in less paperwork to fill out at the doctor’s office, avoiding unnecessary tests and increasing awareness of treatment options.

ACOs must meet quality standards to ensure that they improve care coordination and provide care that is appropriate, safe and timely. CMS has established 31 quality measures on patient and caregiver experience; care coordination and patient safety; improved care for at-risk populations, including patients with diabetes, hypertension, ischemic vascular disease and depression; and appropriate use of preventive health services.

About St. Luke's Hospital:
St. Luke's Hospital is an independent, nonprofit healthcare provider committed to improving the quality of life for its patients and the community. Since its founding in 1866, St. Luke's has grown from a single hospital location to an advanced network of care. It provides personalized healthcare services in over 60 specialty areas at its 493-bed hospital in Chesterfield, Mo. and 143-bed St. Luke's Des Peres Hospital. It also offers more than 30 other locations across the greater St. Louis area, bringing quality healthcare services close to home. St. Luke's is nationally-recognized for quality care and consistently earns high patient satisfaction scores. In St. Louis, St. Luke's is the exclusive alliance provider for the nation's No. 1 heart hospital, Cleveland Clinic's Heart & Vascular Institute.

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