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INTEGRIS Health sets agreement to join Kaiser-created nonprofit Risant
Oklahoma City-based INTEGRIS Health says it will join Risant Health, gaining access to the larger nonprofit’s purchasing and operational resources. INTEGRIS says its name, workforce, board and patient care arrangements will remain in place.
INTEGRIS Health has agreed to join Risant Health, a nonprofit created by Kaiser Permanente, in a move the Oklahoma health system says will help lower costs and improve access to care. The agreement was signed Monday and announced Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The deal brings Risant into Oklahoma for the first time. The organization has previously partnered with health systems in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. INTEGRIS will become part of Risant while retaining its own board, name and staff, according to INTEGRIS CEO Timothy Pehrson. The organizations did not disclose financial terms.
Pehrson said membership in a larger system could give INTEGRIS more purchasing power for medicines, imaging equipment and other supplies, as well as help make capital spending more efficient. He also described plans to help patients find the appropriate care when they are unsure where to go.
For patients, Pehrson said, existing care is expected to continue: they can keep seeing their INTEGRIS doctors, and the health system intends to maintain its relationships with health-plan partners. He said the agreement does not call for restructuring or layoffs.
Because both organizations are nonprofits, Pehrson said the arrangement does not involve a stock sale. He framed the partnership as a long-term investment in Oklahoma healthcare, saying INTEGRIS has served the state for 100 years and intends to continue doing so.