[March 30, 2015]

Via Christi Chooses CEP America to Enhance Emergency Department Care in Wichita, Kansas

Starting June 15, CEP America, one of the nation's largest providers of acute care management solutions, will provide the qualified Emergency Department physicians and advanced practice professionals Via Christi Health needs to provide emergency care at its three acute-care hospitals in Wichita, Kansas.

Sponsored by Ascension, Via Christi is the first health system in the state of Kansas to partner with CEP America.

"Our decision to work with CEP was borne out of the difficulties we continue to face in recruiting the physicians needed to meet the growing demand for emergency care at our Wichita hospitals," said Darrell Youngman, DO, hospital chief medical officer for Via Christi, whose Wichita hospital EDs' combined visits total more than 140,000 a year.

"After reviewing local market forces and national trends in recruiting and retaining emergency physicians and mid-level providers, we identified the need to do as two-thirds of all other U.S. hospitals have done and turn to a larger practice with the national recruiting reach to find more quality Emergency Room physicians such as those who staff our EDs now."

Afterexploring several options, Via Christi chose CEP America.

"We were looking for a physician-owned national practice - one with a proven history of stability and medical care safety, quality and service experiences - that could provide the group of physicians and mid-levels currently providing care and leadership in our EDs the staffing resources and opportunities they need to continue to offer outstanding care at our Wichita hospitals," Youngman said. "We found that in CEP."

For patients, the move from an employed-physician to physician-owned practice model of professional staffing will mean continued access to the team of quality providers needed to meet their needs now and in the future.

"It's also in keeping with Via Christi's journey to becoming a high-reliability organization, as our EDs will have access to the knowledge and resources that come with a national organization," said Joe Akif, Via Christi's service line administrator for Emergency Services and Cardiovascular Services. "CEP's focus on strong leaders, shared goals, collaboration and patient satisfaction has developed a culture that attracts and retains the best and brightest in emergency medicine and helped build better emergency departments across the country."

About CEP America

Since its founding in 1975, CEP America (cepamerica.com) has expanded to offer a wide range of clinical, staffing and administrative expertise designed to increase clinical quality and service excellence across the acute care continuum. Over the last forty years, CEP America has grown to include over 2,600 providers treating 5.2 million patients a year at over 100 facilities specializing in urgent, emergency, inpatient, anesthesia, and post-acute care.

About Via Christi Health

Sponsored by Ascension, Via Christi Health (viachristi.org) is the largest provider of healthcare services in Kansas. Via Christi employs approximately 10,000 in its hospitals, senior villages, physician offices and health services. In fiscal year 2014, it provided $91.4 million in community benefit to those it serves, including the poor.

About Ascension

Ascension (ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world's largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering person-centered care to all with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. In FY2014, Ascension provided $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. More than 150,000 associates and 35,000 affiliated providers serve in 1,900 sites of care - including 131 hospitals and more than 30 senior care facilities - in 23 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to healthcare delivery, Ascension subsidiaries provide a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, treasury management, biomedical engineering, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension's own group purchasing organization.

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