Grand Rapids and West Central Michigan: pursuing health care value through regional planning, cooperation, and investment Grand Rapids and West Central Michigan: pursuing health care value through regional planning, cooperation, and investment

Collection: Health Policy and Services Research Series Title(s): Case studies of regional health care improvement (Commonwealth Fund) Author(s): Klein, Sarah, author McCarthy, Douglas, author Cohen, Alexander, author Contributor(s): Commonwealth Fund, issuing body. Institute for Healthcare Improvement, issuing body. Publication: [New York, N.Y.] : Commonwealth Fund, April 2014 Language(s): English Format: Text Subject(s): Community Health Planning Interinstitutional Relations Quality Improvement Regional Health Planning Michigan United States Genre(s): Technical Report Abstract: The region of West Central Michigan encompassing Grand Rapids and surrounding communities ranks in the top quartile among 306 U.S. regions evaluated by The Commonwealth Fund's Scorecard on Local Health System Performance, 2012, performing especially well on measures of prevention and treatment quality, avoidable hospital use, and costs of care. This relatively higher performance may stem from the area's conservative medical practice style and local stakeholders' stewardship of community health and health care, as illustrated by a long history of regional planning and accountability for promoting the efficient use of resources. Complementary efforts and incentives to improve quality of care, community outreach programs, and a commitment to strengthening the safety net also may influence regional performance. However, more recently, rising costs and increasingly competitive market dynamics appear to be challenging the social contract that has long guided community cooperation. Copyright: Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information) Extent: 1 online resource (1 PDF file (17 pages)) Illustrations: Illustrations NLM Unique ID: 101656756 (See catalog record) Permanent Link: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101656756