Wellvana Interfaith Network launches to improve patient outcomes, provider support in faith-based communities across U.S.

Church of God in Christ partners with Wellvana in service of a healthier congregation

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wellvana Interfaith Network ("WIN"), a partnership between Wellvana and faith-based communities, has launched to help primary care physicians in faith-based communities transition from volume-based healthcare (fee-for-service) to value-based care delivery to improve patient outcomes, address health disparities at the point of care and lower the total cost of care delivery.

With an exclusive, innovative national agreement between Wellvana and the Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC), one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the United States, WIN is engaging and onboarding primary care providers in underserved communities across the country, including practices in Memphis, Tennessee, COGIC's international headquarters.

"Through Wellvana's roots in neighborhood clinics across America, we are uniquely positioned to build trusted, results-driven relationships with physicians and patients throughout the COGIC community," said Wellvana President and Chief Executive Officer Kyle Wailes. "The Wellvana Interfaith Network extends our high-touch care delivery model to faith-based community physicians who will gain financial and clinical support from Wellvana, whose national network includes health systems, payors and providers. The end result will be healthier patients with stronger relationships to their neighborhood doctors."

COGIC Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard issued the following statement:

"The health disparities that exist within our communities will not go away without dedicated effort. Addressing the spiritual, mental and physical needs of our community is an urgent matter – one we're working to solve every single day – and that's why we're joyously celebrating this new partnership with Wellvana that has the potential to transform care within our communities.

I have always been deeply invested and engaged in work to overcome health disparities in our communities. As a predominantly African American, faith-based organization, COGIC welcomes, with open arms, the opportunity to initiate transformational opportunities that lift up our community by giving doctors the opportunity to improve their financial wellbeing while improving the lives of their patients. Today the health of our church is taking a major leap forward. COGIC leaders across the country are reaching out to physicians in their congregations to recommit to our Decade of Health initiative and be the first to hear about the critical next steps to increase access to better healthcare for our community members."

WIN opens doors to faith-based healthcare providers to retain their independence while Wellvana shoulders the upfront financial burden for practices, providing a patient-centered medical management strategy focused on:

• Foundational Care^™ support from registered nurses to help them manage conditions prevalent to underserved communities such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, respiratory conditions (COPD) and more.
• Connecting patients to community resources and timely case-by-case solutions to social challenges such as food insecurity and transportation to doctor appointments.
• Using Clarity^™, Wellvana's proprietary tech solution, to provide actionable insights at the point of care driving improved outcomes for patients.
• Leveraging Wellvana's clinical support teams to offset the administrative burden practices face, including scheduling Medicare Annual Wellness Visits and educating providers on the importance of accurate clinical documentation.

WIN is led by Elder Readus Smith III, FACHE, Wellvana President for National Partnerships, U.S. At Wellvana, Mr. Smith has earned the trust and accountability of hundreds of physicians in their transition from fee-for-service to value-based healthcare delivery. Mr. Smith serves as the Secretary General of Health and Business for COGIC and its affiliates worldwide, appointed by the Presiding Bishop's office.

"At the crossroads of COGIC and the business of healthcare for most of my life, I have witnessed the power of faith-based communities' innate calling to care for each other," said Smith. "I've also seen that doctors in our communities have increasingly less access to modern tools and capital to significantly improve the health and wellbeing of their patients. The Wellvana Interfaith Network is designed to fix this, helping us lead healthier lives and overcome the social challenges that have a negative impact on our health."

About Wellvana

Through our high-touch approach to value-based care enablement, Wellvana is moving the industry beyond fee-for-service to patient-centered care and helping connect the healthy outcomes of patients directly to shared savings for physicians, health systems, and payors. Wellvana believes value-based care succeeds when data-driven technology and high-touch human engagement align. Wellvana offers a flexible path to care delivery transformation for providers, meeting each provider where they are in the transition to value-based care. Founded in 2018 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, Wellvana works with primary care providers and health systems in 25 states, manages lives across multiple payors, and continues to expand its footprint into new communities. For more information, visit Wellvana.com and follow Wellvana on LinkedIn.

About COGIC

The Church of God In Christ, Inc. (COGIC) is a Pentecostal-Holiness Christian denomination with a predominantly African American membership. Founded in 1907 by Bishop Charles Harrison Mason and headquartered in Memphis, TN, COGIC is the fourth largest Protestant group in the United States with 13,000+ churches and more than 8 million members in the U.S. COGIC is committed to improving the spiritual, physical, and mental health of its community, guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Media Contact: Carrie Moore, Wellvana, [email protected]

SOURCE Wellvana