SEATTLE – (July 23, 2015) — Virginia Mason announced today it will open a Vera Whole Health worksite clinic on its Seattle campus in November 2015 to give Virginia Mason employees another high-quality option for primary care and additional wellness services.

“As our team members get convenient access to Vera’s progressive ‘whole health’ approach, we believe we can maximize the potential for engaging our employees in becoming healthier and further improving their quality of life,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “There is also the potential for reduced health care costs for individual team members and for our entire organization.”

The worksite clinic, which will be in an existing building on the hospital campus, could also improve the broader community’s access to primary care services at Virginia Mason.

“As our employees who currently receive primary care from Virginia Mason physicians increasingly use the new on-site Vera clinic, we foresee Virginia Mason providers being able to accept more new patients,” Dr. Kaplan said. “This is a win-win opportunity.”

About 3,600 of Virginia Mason’s approximately 6,000 team members work on or near its main campus in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Employees enrolled in one of Virginia Mason’s medical insurance plans will have several choices for primary care, including Vera Whole Health.

In addition to primary care, the worksite clinic at Virginia Mason Hospital and Seattle Medical Center will feature:

• Skilled health coaches who will work individually with team members to help them set and achieve personal health goals
   
• Regular visits by Vera providers to Virginia Mason’s regional medical centers on Bainbridge Island and in Bellevue, Kirkland, Federal Way, Lynnwood and Issaquah and at Seattle’s University Village, to provide wellness services for employees at those locations
   
• A health culture advisory council comprised of Virginia Mason team members who will share staff feedback about the on-site clinic program with executives

“Virginia Mason is a national leader at the forefront of changing the sick-care system into true health engagement,” said Vera Whole Health President and CEO Ryan Schmid. “We’re thrilled to join them in this health care transformation, and are honored that one of the country’s top health systems hired us to provide care to their own employees.”

Data from companies using Vera Whole Health shows their employees have benefited by becoming more involved in and motivated about their health, resulting in a healthier workforce. Businesses with an onsite Vera clinic have, over time, experienced significant decreases in health care coverage costs. Clients of Seattle-based Vera Whole Health include Seattle Children’s Hospital, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Trident Seafoods, City of Kirkland, and the Northern Arizona Public Employers Trust. Employees of Vera’s other business clients in the Seattle area will also be able to use the worksite clinic at Virginia Mason.

Opening the Vera Whole Health program at Virginia Mason will expand the relationship between the two organizations. In 2014, Virginia Mason made a financial investment in Vera, a privately held company. Virginia Mason Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Patterson is a member of Vera’s board of directors.

Established in 2008, Vera Whole Health contracts with businesses to offer employee-only health clinics staffed by Vera medical teams (physicians, nurse practitioners, medical assistants and health coaches). Organizations pay Vera a negotiated monthly fee for their employees to receive unlimited access to services. The goal is to help employees develop and maintain healthy lifestyles, and slow the trend of rising health care costs. Vera Whole Health online: www.verawholehealth.com.

About Virginia Mason
Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Virginia Mason employs approximately 6,000 people and includes a 336-bed acute-care hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 480 physicians; regional medical centers throughout the Puget Sound area; and Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason is internationally recognized for its breakthrough autoimmune disease research. Virginia Mason was the first health system to apply lean manufacturing principles to health care delivery to eliminate waste, lower cost, and improve quality and patient safety.

To learn more about Virginia Mason, visit Facebook.com/VMcares or follow @VirginiaMason on Twitter. To learn how Virginia Mason is transforming health care and to join the conversation, visit our blog at VirginiaMasonBlog.org.

Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Virginia Mason Media Relations
(206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org