Providence St. Joseph Health Acquires Bluetree Epic Consulting

RENTON, Wash. and MADISON, Wis., June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Providence St. Joseph Health, one of the nation's largest health systems, announced today that it will acquire Bluetree, an Epic consulting and strategy company that helps health care providers maximize their use of technology.

As one of the largest Epic customers in the world, Providence St. Joseph Health has extensive experience maximizing Epic, both within its own seven-state system and for other independent hospitals and medical groups. By acquiring Bluetree, Providence St. Joseph Health will expand its current offerings to increase the value it delivers to other health systems across the country. The acquisition is part of a strategy to diversify revenue to support patient care and the mission of Providence St. Joseph Health.

With the addition of Bluetree, Providence St. Joseph Health now has two of the top EHR solutions companies in the country. It also owns Engage, which has grown to become one of the largest MEDITECH solution companies in the United States.

"Bluetree is on a trajectory for continued growth and success, and we look forward to partnering with them on this journey," said Mike Butler, president of strategy and operations for Providence St. Joseph Health.

Founded in 2012 by former Epic leaders, Bluetree has more than 140 health system clients nationwide. In joining Providence St. Joseph Health, Bluetree will extend its customer reach and pursue additional growth and innovation opportunities. Bluetree was also recently named one of the fastest-growing private companies in America and awarded one of the Best Workplaces by Inc. Magazine.

"By joining Providence St. Joseph Health, Bluetree will be able to help even more health care organizations maximize the power of technology," said Jeremy Schwach, CEO of Bluetree. "Bluetree has always focused on helping health care organizations better care for their patients. By tapping into the Providence St. Joseph Health platform and their thousands of dedicated and talented providers, we will be able to increase the speed by which we bring new innovations to our clients."

"On behalf of Bluetree's Board of Directors, we are delighted that the leadership and staff will continue to provide exemplary service to their clients by working alongside an innovative, mission-driven organization such as Providence St. Joseph Health," said Ken Bloem, board chairman for Bluetree.   

Bluetree will operate as a separate subsidiary of Providence St. Joseph Health. Providence St. Joseph Health will continue to provide existing Epic implementation and management services to its family of organizations and Community Connect partners as it does today. The transaction will close and become effective upon the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, as included in the agreement. Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.

Providence St. Joseph Health's announcement comes on the heels of other innovative ventures designed to diversify revenue to support its mission. In February 2019, Providence St. Joseph Health launched Ayin Health Solutions, a population health management company. Additionally, the health system acquired Lumedic, a next-generation revenue cycle management platform based on blockchain technology.

About Providence St. Joseph Health
Providence St. Joseph Health is a national, not-for-profit Catholic health system comprising a diverse family of organizations and driven by a belief that health is a human right. With 51 hospitals, 829 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing, and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 119,000 caregivers serving communities across seven states – Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington with system offices based in Renton, Wash., and Irvine, Calif.

About Bluetree Network: Bluetree was founded in 2012 and has a client base of more than 140 health systems nationwide, including eight of the 10 organizations listed in the 2018-19 US News and World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll rankings. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, and with offices in Denver and New York, Bluetree's integrated team approach helps health care providers realize higher returns from their Epic platform investment. It was named the 569th fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine in August 2017.

SOURCE Providence St. Joseph Health

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https://www.psjhealth.org