Dave Zook Explains Purpose of Akron's Accountable Care Community Project

In an effort to better serve patients, improve community health and reduce health care costs, three hospitals in Akron, Ohio, have formed a partnership that brings together public health, medical providers, health systems, higher education, safety-net services, researchers, mental-health services and other community agencies. The partnership, known as the Austen BioInnovation Institute, hopes that its Accountable Care Community initiative will become a national model for health care, the Akron Beacon Journal Online reported.

Dave Zook, leader of Faegre Baker Daniels' Washington, D.C. office, says the project will be a "living laboratory" for improving health in communities nationwide. Zook advised the partnership on developing the Accountable Care Community.

"There really is a rising emphasis on reducing health care fragmentation, especially on the community level," Zook told the Akron Beacon Journal Online. The Austen Institute "and its partners are positioned to have a major impact through the ACC implementation—something that will be good for Akron and the entire nation." Read more.