b'Trustees, she and her fellow board members listened to what Cone Health physicians and leaders learned during their conversations with Kaiser Permanente.Risant Health was created by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals for a specific purpose, Mae says: To create an entity of five or six elite health systems focusing on value-based care. Becoming part of Risant Health is the next iteration of Cone Healths strategy and vision. Now, we have this strategic relationship with other thought leaders who can help us accelerate this truly life-changing work. We look forward to expanding health care that works for the patient in North Carolina and nationally.HERES HOW WE GOT HERE, THROUGH THE EYES OF FOUR KEY PLAYERS: DR. JAKE HOCHREIN; DR. PATRICK WRIGHT; BETHANY PORTERFIELD, AND MAE DOUGLAS.DR. JAKE HOCHREIN, CHIEF OF CONE HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP HEARTCARE AND CHIEF OF THE CONE HEALTH CARDIOVASCULAR SERVICE LINE, ON THE STATE OF AMERICAN HEALTH CAREDr. Jake Hochrein likens the American health-care crisis to an iceberg. We should have been trying to turn this ship long ago, he says. And Cone Health has. Cone Health has realized it, and weve been addressing it. Others will run out of time. As a country, were running out of time. Boy, its getting close.The iceberg were approaching is a massive population of patientsa tsunami of baby boomerswho will need expensive advanced therapies.Across the U.S. health system, we havent prevented their illnesses by focusing on wellness, Hochrein says. Now, how do we handle this aging community?Thats one iceberg sitting right in front of us. Just behind it is another and another: all of the other generations and their health risks, including increased cancer rates, mental health issues and a growing homeless population. How do we keep community members out of the hospital in the future and foster quality of life?Cone Health wants to do something differentsomething betterby examining and addressing root causes. In every specialty, providers are working from a wellness mindset, combining acute care with prevention approaches.For example, with Cone Healths history of heart and vascular leadership, Hochrein and his colleagues have all kinds of lifesaving innovations at their disposal. Still, their larger vision is to help stop the threat from developing in the first place.We could keep somebody from having to take a pill, having a heart attack, losing a limb, ending up on dialysis or having a stroke, Hochrein says. Its extremely exciting that we could prevent disease. Thats where were headed.He was intrigued when CEO Mary Jo Cagle, MD, called on him to be one of the 14 physicians to have conversations with Kaiser Permanente about Cone Health becoming part of Risant Health.Nobodys ever done this before, Hochrein says. Here, you have an institution that is nationally knownKaiser Permanente is the biggest private not-for-profit in the countryand the fact that we are working together to improve health outcomes for millions of people is really exciting. the giving effect20249'