Oak Street Health, a network of value-based primary care centers for adults on Medicare, is on a mission to rebuild healthcare as it should be. To accomplish this, the company is always looking at new regions where this approach to healthcare is needed and where access to high-quality care is challenging. With a large density of Medicare-eligibles, Arizona became an important state to bring this model of care. Oak Street Health opened its first center in Apache Junction in January 2022, marking the company’s 20th state entry.
Oak Street Health has devoted itself to providing unmatched care where it’s needed most and keeping older adults out of hospitals by caring for them proactively. Nationally, the primary care provider has a 51% reduction in patient hospital admissions compared to Medicare benchmarks. With more than 178,000 residents 65 years or older, Phoenix was of great interest to Oak Street Health. To date, the company has opened nine centers in the greater Phoenix area, including Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Apache Junction and Glendale, and two in Tucson, bringing the total number of Arizona centers to eleven, with plans to continue the expansion across the state.
Every Oak Street Health patient has a full team in addition to a provider — which include social workers, behavioral health workers and team members dedicated to helping patients get the most out of their Medicare benefits. Each center also has a community room, where Oak Street Health encourages patients to participate in fun, interactive activities like line dancing and chair yoga. Beyond physical care, Oak Street Health’s community rooms also promote patients’ behavioral health — an integral part of its care model — by giving patients a safe, engaging place to interact with other seniors and staff members. In addition to the physical and behavioral healthcare, Arizona’s Oak Street Health centers will also offer vaccinations and informational sessions on how to stay healthy during the holidays.
Photo courtesy of Oak Street Health
Rose Martin is regional vice president of Oak Street Health
