Keeping care local: Transforming community healthcare through innovation and collaboration

Access to high-quality healthcare has long been unequal, particularly for patients in rural or underserved communities. While advances in medicine and technology have expanded what’s possible, they haven’t always solved the fundamental challenge of accessibility. Increasingly, healthcare leaders are rethinking how care is delivered, shifting focus toward models that bring services closer to where patients live.

In a recent conversation on The Vurge Podcast, Wendy Hoffman, president and COO of Divurgent, spoke with Lainie Dean about how organizations like UpVia Health and Parkview Health are working to reshape community-based care. (For CHIME members, the conversation is also available on CHIME's on-demand platform and qualifies for continuing education credits). At the heart of their approach is a simple but powerful idea: keeping care local.

“This is really about making sure patients don’t have to leave their communities to get the care they need,” Dean said. “It’s about building systems that support them where they already are.”

This concept goes beyond convenience. It represents a strategic commitment to ensuring that patients can receive high-quality, coordinated care within their own communities. Instead of traveling long distances for services, patients benefit from stronger local systems designed to meet their needs more effectively. The goal is to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place while minimizing the unnecessary burden patients often face when navigating the healthcare system.

However, achieving that vision is not without challenges. Many healthcare organizations continue to face persistent barriers that make local care difficult to deliver. As Dean noted, these challenges are often interconnected:

• Workforce shortages that limit access to specialized services

• Infrastructure gaps, especially in rural or underserved areas

• Fragmented systems that hinder communication across providers

“When those pieces aren’t aligned, patients feel it immediately,” Dean said. “They experience delays, confusion, and gaps in care that shouldn’t exist.”

Technology is helping to close many of these gaps, serving as a critical enabler rather than a standalone solution. From expanding access to strengthening coordination, digital tools are reshaping how care is delivered at the community level.

Dean highlighted several areas where technology is making an impact:

• Telehealth is connecting patients with specialists who may not be physically available nearby.

• Data-sharing capabilities are improving coordination between providers.

• Analytics tools are identifying at-risk patients earlier, enabling more proactive care.

“Technology gives us the ability to extend care beyond traditional boundaries,” she said. “But it only works when it’s implemented with the patient experience in mind.”

Still, innovation alone isn’t enough. One of the most powerful drivers of success is collaboration. The partnership between UpVia Health and Parkview Health reflects a more integrated approach—one that aligns strategy, clinical expertise, and technology to support community-specific needs.

“It’s not about applying a single model everywhere,” Dean said. “It’s about understanding each community and designing solutions that actually work for the people who live there.”

That localized approach often includes the following steps:

• Assessing population health needs at the community level

• Leveraging existing provider networks

• Building solutions that are both scalable and sustainable

Ultimately, these efforts are centered on improving the patient experience. When care is more accessible and coordinated, patients see meaningful benefits in outcomes and quality of life.

Dean emphasized that success should always be measured through the patient lens:

• Less time spent traveling for care

• Faster access to needed services

• More connected and personalized care journeys

“When we keep care local, we’re not just improving access; we’re improving how people experience care altogether,” she said. “That has a lasting impact.”

Looking ahead, the momentum behind community-based care is only expected to grow. Organizations continue to adopt hybrid care models that blend virtual and in-person services, expanding their ability to reach patients where they are. At the same time, partnerships are deepening, and data-driven strategies are becoming more central to decision-making.

“We’re moving toward a future where care is more flexible, more connected, and more responsive,” Dean said. “The organizations that succeed will be the ones that stay focused on what patients actually need.”

What’s becoming clear is that the future of healthcare will not be defined solely by breakthrough technologies or centralized systems but also by how effectively those innovations are applied at the local level. Keeping care local is not just an operational improvement; it is also a fundamental shift toward more equitable, patient-centered care.

Future healthcare success will depend on the ability of organizations to remain adaptable, collaborative, and deeply attuned to the communities they serve. By doing so, they can ensure that innovation advances healthcare and makes it more accessible for everyone.

UpVia Health is at the forefront of this transformation, partnering with organizations to bring care closer to home and build more connected, sustainable healthcare systems. To learn more about how UpVia is helping redefine community-based care, visit UpVia Health or connect with the team.