ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alliant Health Solutions (AHS), a nonprofit family of companies serving public and private partners to increase the quality, effectiveness, and accessibility of healthcare, today announced the completion of mergers with two End Stage Renal Disease Networks (ESRD Networks), End Stage Renal Disease Network of Texas, Inc. (ESRD Network 14) and the Southeastern Kidney Council, Inc. (ESRD Network 6). With these mergers AHS is establishing the Alliant Quality Kidney Collaborative (AQKC). The two ESRD Networks, while retaining their independent boards and organizational structures, will join existing AHS subsidiary Network 8, Inc. (ESRD Network 8) under AQKC. AHS will leverage quality improvement capabilities and administrative infrastructure to accelerate quality improvement for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) and their families.
The Alliant Quality Kidney Collaborative will cover three ESRD Networks which serve populations with very similar dialysis and transplant patient demographics and provider characteristics. AQKC will boost the commitment to offer comprehensive, patient-centered improvements in quality of care along a continuum that will impact patients in the three Networks’ jurisdictions, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. “The combined expertise and capabilities under AQKC will provide additional opportunities for collaboration, coordination and efficiencies. But most importantly, AQKC will amplify the impact of quality improvement initiatives resulting in strategic advantages primed to benefit our customers,” said Dennis White President & CEO of AHS.
Southeastern Kidney Council (ESRD Network 6), a nonprofit corporation located in Raleigh, NC, became the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ESRD contractor for Georgia, North and South Carolina in 1988 through two predecessor organizations that participated in the ESRD Network program since 1978. ESRD Network 6 promotes patient and family engagement and empowerment through an established network of partnerships with practitioners and allied healthcare practitioners within the Network 6 service area.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing collaborative, productive partnership with Alliant; formalizing this relationship will provide resources and opportunities to allow us to build additional partnerships and expand our impact,” said Dr. Barry I. Freedman, Southeastern Kidney Council Chair.
End Stage Renal Disease of Texas, Inc. shares a similar mission to support quality care through patient services, education, quality improvement, and information management. ESRD Network 14 also boasts a successful tenure as the CMS ESRD contractor for Texas since 1978. Dr. Charles Orji, Chairman of ESRD Network 14 assures the patients, staff and partners in Texas that the transition will not impact the usual course of business, he states, “We will remain Texas-based, working with Texas physicians and practitioners while expanding our resources and partnerships.”
“Under AQKC, the Networks will be more empowered to pursue the strategic objectives of CMS in a more efficient manner. We incorporate patient-centeredness as a core value in our quality improvement efforts and these mergers increase our capacity to deliver on this promise,” said Jerry Fuller, Network 8 Executive Director.
AHS provides corporate guidance and support to its subsidiaries resulting in a reduction in administrative burdens and increased value for the customers. The ESRD Networks will retain their local identity, with current staff continuing operations while utilizing expanded resources and expertise provided by the AHS merger.
“Our corporate values, competencies and cultures complement each other,” said Dennis White, President & CEO of AHS, “through our collaborative efforts, innovative approaches to quality improvement will be actively spread to further efforts to successfully engage beneficiaries, providers, professional associations, and other stakeholders in pursuit of better health, better care, and increased value. Through the collective knowledge and expertise of AQKC, the three ESRD Networks will be better positioned to address areas of CMS Quality Strategy focus, such as patient and family engagement and health disparities.”
About Alliant Health Solutions, Inc.
Alliant Health Solutions (AHS) is a professional services organization dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and accessibility of health care. AHS, consists of a family of companies that includes Alliant Quality – The Medicare Quality Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Georgia and North Carolina, Alliant ASO, Alliant GMCF, and Alliant Integrity. As a leading provider of custom health solutions, we are committed to providing the most efficient, effective and highest quality services, including utilization management, program integrity and quality improvement. For more information about AHS and its efforts to improve health care quality, please visit www.allianthealth.org.
