Seven Rural Kansas Hospitals Form Clinically Integrated Network to Advance Value-Based Care
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The network brings together hospitals representing $545 million in net revenue, including five critical access hospitals, and serves a combined population of approximately 190,000 patients. Network leaders said they expect additional independent rural hospitals to join in the future.
Seven independent rural hospitals in Kansas have joined forces to launch the Kansas High Value Network (KS-HVN), a clinically integrated network designed to strengthen care coordination, improve operational efficiency, and support value-based contracting while allowing member hospitals to maintain their independence.
The network brings together hospitals representing $545 million in net revenue, including five critical access hospitals, and serves a combined population of approximately 190,000 patients. Network leaders said they expect additional independent rural hospitals to join in the future.
“The communities we serve want to keep rural healthcare rural, and close to home,” said Edward Herrman, chair of the KS-HVN board and president and CEO of HaysMed. “This collaboration helps us ensure that decisions about care in our communities are designed for our communities.”
KS-HVN is the seventh clinically integrated network established with support from Cibolo Health, an advisory firm that oversees the networks’ day-to-day operations. The organization launched its first network, the Rough Rider High-Value Network in North Dakota, in 2023 and later expanded to other states, including Wisconsin.
Under the model, participating hospitals remain independently operated but collaborate on clinical quality initiatives, administrative efficiencies, and cost-management strategies. The network also plans to establish value-based reimbursement arrangements with insurers and develop optional multi-hospital programs aimed at reducing expenses related to equipment, supplies, and services.
A newly formed Clinical Integration Committee, consisting of representatives from each member hospital, will begin defining clinical performance metrics and implementing a network-wide data-sharing platform. Leaders said the effort is intended to support quality improvement initiatives and facilitate future value-based care agreements.
According to Cibolo Health, similar networks have enabled rural hospitals to share specialist resources, pool employees for health insurance programs, jointly fund community projects, and negotiate collective vendor contracts. Advocates of the model often position clinically integrated networks as an alternative to hospital mergers or closures in financially challenged rural markets.
The development comes as federal and state governments continue to support rural healthcare collaboration efforts through targeted funding programs, including Kansas’ Rural Health Transformation Fund.
Ben Bucher, vice president of network operations at Cibolo Health, said clinically integrated networks are increasingly being adopted as healthcare organizations seek scalable approaches to improving outcomes, coordinating care, and managing costs while keeping healthcare services local.
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