Essentia Health

Essentia Health, headquartered in Duluth, MN, is an integrated health system that serves patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Idaho. In 2008, Essentia created its Patients and Families as Partners Program, which now includes 14 patient and family advisory councils in primary and specialty care as well as four patient-to-patient mentor programs. In addition, patient and family partners are engaged in more than 15 organizational committees and task forces across the health system, including its Administrative Committee for Primary Care.

Joseph Bianco, MD, FAAFP, Director of Primary Care for Essentia, remembers attending IPFCC’s Intensive Seminar in Minneapolis in the fall of 2009, when the field was “in transformation”—at the beginning of the patient-centered medical home and team-based care. Dr. Bianco uses the analogy of building a new home, “You wouldn’t hire an architect who didn’t consult you. We were building new models in primary care and needed patients involved.” After the seminar, the Essentia team hired its first Director of Patient- and Family-Centered Care, a key first step, according to Dr. Bianco.

The Essentia system decided first to build capacity in its larger clinics rather than mandating that all clinics immediately integrate patient partners. Essentia built that capacity, patient-by-patient—recruiting and vetting patients and creating ways for them to be involved. Seven years later, 14 of the 68 clinics within the system have established Patient and Family Advisory Councils.

For other systems and clinics that have not yet integrated patient partners, Dr. Bianco suggests, “Our patients and their families are an abundant source of wisdom as we navigate the stormy seas of health care delivery. To go it alone without their partnership is foolish and unwise. With patients as equal partners in this journey, our work together is more fulfilling, more meaningful, and more likely to help them reach their health goals.”