University of Virginia Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk will establish a clinically integrated network dedicated exclusively to improving children’s health. This network – the only one in Virginia designed specifically for pediatrics – will initially serve children throughout greater Hampton Roads and Charlottesville and its neighboring counties.

The physician-led network, a joint venture of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and UVA Children’s Hospital, will unite pediatric health care providers – pediatricians, pediatric specialists, pediatric surgeons and others essential to the care of children – to develop protocols, practices and standards of care. Their goal: ensuring all children have easy access to the best care in the right location with the greatest efficiency and value.

“Our goal is to develop a model of pediatric care that delivers superior care coordination and clinical outcomes to patients while supporting the practices of participating providers through clinical integration, innovation, research and education,” said Dr. Richard P. Shannon, executive vice president for health affairs at UVA.  

Clinically integrated networks are designed to improve the health of patients and reduce costs through care coordination by implementing physician-designed clinical standards and linking physicians, hospitals, other care providers and insurers to work toward these common goals.

“Clinical networks will become increasingly important as the Virginia Medicaid program transitions to a platform that focuses on innovation, establishes alternative payment models and monitors both utilization and care outcomes,” said Jim Dahling, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters Health System.

This announcement is the culmination of extensive collaboration, analysis and preparation by both institutions, which have also partnered on a regional collaborative for cardiac care. Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and UVA will work with physicians and community partners to help define and design the roadmap for the clinically integrated network.

“The input and expertise of pediatricians, specialists, and surgeons from UVA and [Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters] as well as partners in the community will be essential to our success as we work together to improve the health of our children through this network,” Dahling said.