Executives of St. Joseph Health and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian say their recently announced venture to create an integrated regional healthcare network isn’t driven simply by business priorities.
“Besides the vision we have, we also think there are some very critical moral imperatives,” Deborah Proctor, chief executive of Orange-based St. Joseph Health, said at a press conference where the affiliation was announced. “First of all, in Orange County, there is still tremendous health disparity.”
There are people within the region that get different levels of healthcare services and have different outcomes based on their age, income and ethnicity, Proctor said.
OC also has a reported 300,000 people who do not have health insurance.
“We think [it’s] abominable that those disparities still exist,” the St. Joseph chief said.
St. Joseph Health and Hoag plan to create a new company that will include healthcare facilities in OC and the High Desert, as well as an extensive list of affiliated doctors and an integrated regional health network encompassing seven hospitals.
The new network will strive to reach what Proctor called “vulnerable populations” with limited access to healthcare.
“It’s our role and responsibility to create that access,” she said.
Richard Afable, chief executive of Newport Beach-based Hoag, said his organization and St. Joseph Health share similar values in that regard.
“It became very clear to us early on that these two organizations … believe in the same things,” Afable said.
One of those things was “the need and requirement for access to care for all persons,” he said.
Afable said St. Joseph Health has had a history of caring for vulnerable populations. The health system dates back to the 1920s, when the Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in the county from an earlier base in Eureka.
“Hoag has the same tradition and actions,” Afable added.
Hoag grew out of work by the Rev. Raymond Brahams, a Presbyterian minister and others. They eventually linked up with the Hoag Family Foundation, which provided funds for the project, and Hoag opened in 1952.
Such traditions “can be greatly enhanced by us coming together,” Afable said.
Discovery Money
Antigen Discovery Inc., an Irvine-based biotech company, received a pair of grants from the National Institutes of Health. Antigen offers proteome microarrays and testing models used to develop vaccines, diagnostic tests and therapeutics. The privately held company received a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The money will be used to identify biomarkers associated with protection against malaria. Antigen will work on the project with Rockville, Md.-based Sanaria Inc.
Antigen Discovery also announced a separate $600,000, two-year, first-phase SBIR grant funding collaborative research with University of California, Irvine’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering on a microfluidic immunodiagnostic device.
FDA Clearance
Orange-based orthodontic device and product maker Ormco Corp. said that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its Insignia system.
Insignia is made up of 3-D treatment planning software and customized appliances designed to help orthodontists provide faster treatment and more predictable results.
The software “allows doctors to re-engineer a patient’s smile and occlusion based on his or her unique dental anatomy,” Ormco said.
Ormco is a unit of Sybron Dental Specialties Inc., which is also based in Orange. Sybron is owned by Washington, D.C.-based conglomerate Danaher Corp. Danaher also owns Brea medical testing instrument and supply maker Beckman Coulter Inc.
Enclarity and Milliman
Aliso Viejo healthcare information technology company Enclarity Inc. said that it is working with Milliman Inc., a global consulting and actuarial firm in Seattle, to offer its ProviderPoint software and databases and Milliman’s MedInsight software and services jointly to employers, health plans and others.
Enclarity has a database that contains detailed demographic information on more than 6.5 million healthcare providers.
Milliman’s MedInsight unit is dedicated to helping its clients improve their business performance by assisting them in leveraging data. Its clients range in size from fewer than 25,000 members to more than 30 million members.
Edwards
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. of Irvine promoted Christine McCauley to corporate vice president, human resources, replacing Rob Reindl, who retired from full-time duties Aug. 1. McCauley has been with the heart valve maker since 1999 when it was still part of Baxter International Inc.
