Thriving Economy: The business of health

Southeast Wisconsin businesses benefit from a health care market notedfor quality, competition, efficiency and collaboration

QUALITY

Wisconsin ranks first in the nation in the quality of care provided to patients, according to the most recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). And it’s no fluke. Over the past several years, the state has consistently ranked in the top three states for quality nationwide.

INNOVATION

Milwaukee-area health care providers, research facilities and businesses, including GE Healthcare, lead the way in developing new protocols and technologies

INTEGRATED HEALTH SYSTEMS

Four integrated health systems serve southeastern Wisconsin, providing coordinated care that improves efficiency.

COLLABORATION

Private-public partnerships promote transparency and collaboration. The Wisconsin Health Information Organization allows health care providers, health insurers and employer representatives to work together on payment reform by analyzing the cost of treating more than 3.7 million Wisconsin residents.

innovative solutions that deliver high quality, cost-efficient health care services. As a result of these initiatives, the state consistently ranks among the top five states in the quality of health care services delivered.

LEADERS IN WELLNESS

Wisconsin businesses and organizations have been innovators in wellness, recognizing the link between medical costs and the health status of an employer group. Most Milwaukee-area employers with more than 20 employees have established wellness programs.

This focus on wellness is due in large measure to the efforts of the Wellness Council of Wisconsin, which is dedicated to helping employers design results-oriented wellness programs that maximize the health and productivity of their employees. Founded in 1985 by the Wisconsin business community, the association has 500 employer members representing more than 450,000 employees. Its

University helps the only region participants develop a in the country practical framework for to have two building effective cities achieve worksite wellness the Well City programs by securing senior designation — level support and using data

As a result of the business community’s commitment to wellness, southeastern Wisconsin is the only region in the country to have two cities that have achieved Well City designation – Milwaukee, which received its designations in 2010 and 2015, and Racine, which received its designation in 2012. In order to achieve the designation, a significant number of businesses have to offer formal wellness programs that include biometric screenings, health-risk assessments and other requirements.

FITNESS MADE EASY

The Milwaukee Region is a natural for fitness and exercise. An extensive park system, miles of hiking and biking trails (many along the Lake Michigan shoreline) and several state parks make it easy to get outside and exercise.

Dozens of 5K runs and bike rides make their way through downtown Milwaukee, including the Ride for the Arts, which raises money for the performing arts; Storm the Bastille run, which is held during the annual Bastille Days celebration; Briggs and

manufactures medical devices; Mortara Instrument, which is now part of Welch Allyn Cardiology; Criticare Technologies, which manufactures medical monitoring equipment; Alcami Corp., which develops and manufactures pharmaceuticals and pharma intermediates; and Bradshaw Medical, a manufacturer of orthopedic and spinal surgery instruments.

The Milwaukee region also benefits from being close to major medical businesses in northern Illinois. The worldwide headquarters of Abbott Laboratories, which produces a range of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and nutrition products, is located in Lake Bluff, a 70- minute drive from Milwaukee. Hospira, a leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of medication delivery systems, specialty injectable pharmaceuticals and critical care devices is also headquartered in northern Illinois and has an office and warehouse in Pleasant Prairie.

A LEADER IN RESEARCH & EDUCATION

The Milwaukee region is a leader in medical research and education. The Medical College of Wisconsin, which is located in the Milwaukee Regional Medical Park just west of Milwaukee, is a private medical school and research institution that offers graduate degrees in medical, pharmacy and biomedical sciences. Medical College scientists lead biomedical and population health advancements through laboratory research, clinical trials and communityengaged research. Its faculty researchers conduct 2,000 studies annually with more than $144 million in government funding.

Its Office of Technology Development oversees patenting, marketing and licensing of new medical technologies. Its Clinical and Translational Science Institute is a collaboration with the Milwaukee School of Engineering and other schools to solve medical engineering challenges.

The Blood Center of Wisconsin and its affiliate, the Blood Research Institute, play major roles in research regarding immunobiology, transfusion medicine and stem-cell biology.

MEDICAL PLANS

Wisconsin has the most competitive health insurance market in the country, giving employers a range of options from which to choose. The Milwaukee Region is served by a variety of national and state health plans, including:

● Aetna

● Anthem

● Cigna

● Health EOS

● Humana

● Network Health Plan

● UnitedHealthcare

● Well Priority

● WPS Health Insurance Corp.

UnitedHealthcare is the region’s largest provider of private-sector health insurance, followed by Anthem.

Aurora Health Care (now Advocate Aurora Health) was the first system in southeastern Wisconsin to launch an accountable care organization (ACO) for the commercially insured that is offered to both self-funded employers and as a fully insured product. In 2016, Aurora and Anthem created a joint venture, the Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Company, to offer an innovative approach to health care that focuses on using data and patient engagement to improve the quality and efficiency of care.

Ascension and Froedtert Health jointly own Network Health, which provides health insurance throughout eastern Wisconsin.

IMPROVING CARE THROUGH INTEGRATION

The seven-county Milwaukee Region is served by four integrated health systems and several major health maintenance organizations, point-of-service and preferred provider organizations. Advocate Aurora Health, the area’s largest integrated health system, offers health management services to employers through Aurora Employer Solutions, which includes an accountable care organization (ACO) that promotes quality and efficiency, with aligned incentives for reducing employer

with inpatient services to provide coordinated medical care. Four integrated health care delivery systems serve the seven-county area. Two of these systems – Ascension Health and Aurora Health Care – account for more than 60 percent of inpatient admissions.

Advocate Aurora Health

Advocate Aurora Health is the largest fully integrated health system in Wisconsin and serves eastern Wisconsin through 15 hospitals and more than 150 clinic sites. It employs 32,000 caregivers, including 1,800 physicians throughout eastern Wisconsin. Aurora received the top performance award in a six-year quality demonstration project conducted by Medicare. The health system operates 11 medical centers throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including St. Luke’s Medical Center, its flagship, tertiary-care hospital. aurorahealthcare.org

Ascension Wisconsin

Ascension Wisconsin includes the former Columbia St. Mary’s Health System and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Services. The system includes 11 hospitals, more than 75 community clinics, the Columbia College of Nursing, physician medical groups and several urgent/express care centers in southeastern Wisconsin. Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center is the only one of its kind in the eastern half of the state. ascension.org

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Health System

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is one of the nation's top pediatric facilities with hospitals located in Milwaukee and Neenah. It offers outpatient care in more than 70 medical specialties and has an academic affiliation with the Medical College of Wisconsin. It is ranked in eight specialty areas in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018- 2019 Best Children’s Hospitals report. Children’s provides primary, specialty, urgent, and emergency care, as well as community health services, foster and adoption services, child and family counseling, child advocacy services, and family resource centers. chw.org

Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin

Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The network comprises eastern Wisconsin’s only

academic medical center, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls; and St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend. It also includes more than 2,700 physicians across 30 primary and specialty clinical locations. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin provides comprehensive health services, from primary to highly complex specialty care. The health network’s three hospitals have 804 staffed beds, more than 40,000 annual admissions and nearly 966,000 annual outpatient visits. froedtert.com

In 2017, United Hospital System in Kenosha affiliated with Froedtert and The Medical College and was renamed Froedtert South. The system has served southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois communities for more than 100 years. It provides services through the Kenosha Medical Center Campus, St. Catherine’s Medical Center Campus and multiple physician clinics. froedtertsouth.com

ProHealth Care

Independent Hospitals

In addition to the region’s integrated health systems, there are independent acute-care specialty hospitals serving the area:

Columbia Center Birth Hospital

13125 N. Port Washington Rd., Mequon; Wisconsin’s only hospital-based doula program; pregnancy and childbirth classes; and postpartum depression support. Birthing suites: 17; thebirthhospital.org

Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center

(Federal Government) 5000 W. National Ave., Milwaukee; Available beds: 168; milwaukee.va.gov

Post-Acute Medical Specialty Hospital of Milwaukee

5017 S. 110th St., Greenfield; Available beds: 56; postacutemedical.com

Specialty Providers

comprehensive rehabilitation and human service organizations in the nation, provides services to children, adults and seniors at community-based sites in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

Other specialty providers include:

● Aurora Psychiatric Hospital, a 65-bed inpatient facility affiliated with Aurora Health Care

● Rogers Memorial Hospital, a psychiatric-care provider with a 90-bed inpatient facility in

Oconomowoc, a 74-bed facility in West Allis, and a treatment site in Kenosha

● Two orthopedic hospitals that are joint ventures between health systems and area orthopedic surgeons: the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, which is partially owned by Ascension Health’s Columbia St. Mary’s Health System and orthopedic physicians, and the Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, which is partially owned by Ascension Wisconsin.