Launch Of The Innovation Institute Provides Novel Platform For Transformation Through Collaboration

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Innovation Institute announced its launch today as a unique aggregation platform to stimulate growth, innovation and collaboration among leading non-profit health systems.  Structured as a for-profit company owned exclusively by seven founding non-profit health systems, The Innovation Institute provides an independent vehicle through which hospitals can cooperate with other like-minded partners and execute their strategic initiatives on an expedited basis. St. Joseph Health, a $5 billion system, based in Orange County California, became its first founding member.  In addition, The Innovation Institute announced a strategic alliance with The Cleveland Clinic as the newest member of Cleveland's Healthcare Innovation program.

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"Our mission and vision is to truly transform the healthcare delivery system by fundamentally altering the way hospitals think about their business assets, human resources and strategic relationships," said Joe Randolph, President & CEO of The Innovation Institute. "Sometimes the biggest obstacle to change is ourselves. Our unique business model not only fosters collaboration through common ownership and shared vision, but it also offers new revenue opportunities, better quality and faster execution through this independent vehicle."

The Innovation Institute is a healthcare provider of innovation solutions, business process services, and investment management services to hospitals and health systems. It consists of three primary business units: (i) the Innovation Lab, an incubator for new disruptive breakthrough inventions; (ii) the Enterprise Development Group, a group of shared services offering high-quality, cost-effective solutions; and (iii) the Growth Funds, a portfolio of investments in emerging businesses and assets.

Deborah Proctor, President and CEO of St. Joseph Health, who helped form The Innovation Institute says, "In response to health care reform, every health system is looking for ways to promote value through increasing efficiency and ensuring high quality.  Incremental changes from traditional methods may no longer be sufficient or offer sustainable solutions. The Innovation Institute provides St. Joseph Health with a vehicle for us to explore effective, thoughtful responses to health care challenges and collaborate with others who share our focus and vision."

The Innovation Institute is currently in active discussions with several other large not-for-profit health systems looking to invest as member owners.

The Innovation Institute also announced a collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Innovations, which has demonstrated a 12-year track record in developing intellectual property, filing more than 400 active licenses and cultivating 55 start-up companies. Cleveland Clinic's Healthcare Innovation Alliance program is designed to advance innovation and manage the commercialization process for health systems. St. Joseph Health, through The Innovation Institute, is the seventh partner to join the Healthcare Innovation Alliance program.

"The Healthcare Innovation Alliance allows health systems to leverage the experience of its fellow members to speed up the process of developing patient-centered technologies," said Chris Coburn, Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations.  "The addition of The Innovation Institute will give Cleveland Clinic Innovations and our Alliance members the opportunity to foster meaningful growth on the West Coast and with Catholic health systems." 

The new Alliance partnership will provide turn-key innovation solutions to hospitals, including ideation, intellectual property, prototyping, development and commercialization.  "Community hospitals and physician providers typically do not have an expertise in intellectual property and technology transfer," said Larry Stofko, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of The Innovation Institute. "By actively engaging with physicians and employees, we can help hospitals tap into a wealth of their own innovative potential and streamline the process of delivering these great ideas to patients." The Innovation Lab will also form collaborative partnerships with leading technology and healthcare companies to incubate breakthrough products, improved processes and better ways of practicing medicine.

The Innovation Institute is committed to maintaining a concentrated focus on thoughtful and aggressive collaboration, which it believes to be the key to solving so many of the recent challenges facing healthcare providers. 

SOURCE The Innovation Institute