{"id":8676,"date":"2025-05-20T15:43:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T19:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniteustailstg.wpengine.com\/?p=8676"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:39:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:39:51","slug":"how-ballad-health-saves-68-80-per-patient-per-month-by-reducing-ed-utilization-with-unite-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/case-study\/reducing-ed-utilization-at-ballad-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ballad Health Reduces ED Utilization by Nearly 25% and Saves $68.80 PMPM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ballad Health, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), successfully implemented Unite Us\u2019 closed-loop referral system to address non-medical needs and reduce emergency department (ED) visits. This led to a 16.2% reduction in overall ED utilization and a 24.8% reduction in ED utilization for patients engaged by community health workers (CHWs), highlighting the importance of referral technology, seamless data integration, and effective care coordination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ballad Health, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), successfully implemented Unite Us\u2019 closed-loop referral system to address non-medical needs and reduce emergency department (ED) visits. This led to a 16.2% reduction in overall ED utilization and a 24.8% reduction in ED utilization for patients engaged…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"states":[11],"topic":[84,86,88],"industry":[74],"series_name":[],"class_list":["post-8676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-study","states-virginia","topic-data","topic-healthcare","topic-technology","industry-providers"],"acf":{"layout":"report","gated_page":{"":null,"title":"","featured_image":null,"description":"","form_title":"Fill out the form to download the white paper.","code_editor":"","title_2":"","description_2":"","embeds":null,"display_cta_button":true,"button_text":"Download the White Paper"},"columns":null,"download_page":{"document":""},"reports_component":{"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"buttons","_acfe_flexible_layout_title":null,"_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"action_buttons":[{"name":"Read the Case Study","style":"button-solid","link_type":"external","page_link":null,"link":"#background","icon":"down-caret","is_blank":false,"background_color":"","text_color":"","background_color_hover":"","text_color_hover":""},{"name":"Download the Case Study","style":"button-hollow","link_type":"external","page_link":null,"link":"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/document\/how-ballad-health-reduces-ed-utilization-by-nearly-25-and-saves-68-80-pmpm\/","icon":"download","is_blank":false,"background_color":"","text_color":"","background_color_hover":"","text_color_hover":""}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"key_takeaways","_acfe_flexible_layout_title":null,"_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"id":"","menu_label":"","header":"

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\r\n

In this report, you\u2019ll learn how:<\/h3>","takeaways":[{"icon":"desktop-computer","text":"Investing in infrastructure can significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes."},{"icon":"data","text":"Data integration and cross-sector collaboration are key for measuring the impact of community interventions on ED utilization."},{"icon":"network","text":"Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential in bridging the gap between clinical care and non-clinical community-based services."},{"icon":"globe-website","text":"Closed-loop referrals enable better transparency, efficiency, and outcomes for providers and patients alike."}],"text":"

<\/h3>\r\n\r\n
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<\/h3>\r\n

Key Results<\/h3>","tiles":[{"header":"8.5%","text":"reduction in the number of patients visiting the ED."},{"header":"59%","text":"of these patients having been insured by Medicaid."},{"header":"16.2%","text":"average decrease in ED visits for patients in the six months following a referral."},{"header":"24.8%","text":"average decrease in ED visits for patients engaged by Ballad Health CHWs in the six months following a referral."},{"header":"$825K","text":"in estimated annualized cost savings per 1,000 patients."},{"header":"$68.8","text":"per patient per month in estimated savings, based on reduced ED utilization."}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_layout_title":null,"_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"id":"background","wysiwyg":" \r\n

Background<\/h2>\r\nBallad Health<\/a> is an integrated community health improvement organization serving Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and parts of North Carolina and Kentucky. Built \u201cwith community effort\u201d and \u201cdesigned to meet local needs,\u201d\u00a0 Ballad Health operates 20 hospitals, along with post-acute care, behavioral health services, and a multi-specialty group of physician practices.\r\n\r\nIn 2020, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH)<\/a> invested in the creation of the Unite Virginia<\/a> network - a statewide referral network launched in partnership with the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA<\/a>) and powered by Unite Us\u2019 closed-loop referral technology. Unite Virginia was designed to connect government, provider, and community partners across the Commonwealth\u2014and since its inception, the network has connected over 66,000 Virginians <\/b>to vital community services."},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","_acfe_flexible_layout_title":null,"_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"id":"","text":"\u201cBridging the gaps between health and community care is critical to ensuring health and safety for all Virginians. Through use of this framework, many local partners have provided essential services to Virginians in need, which is helping to reimagine how whole-person care can be delivered across the Commonwealth.\u201d\r\n\r\nReisa Sloce,<\/strong> District Director, <\/span>Virginia Department of Health, LENOWISCO and Cumberland Plateau Health Districts"},{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_layout_title":null,"_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"id":"","wysiwyg":"

Partners<\/span><\/h3>\r\n\"\"The Virginia Department of Health<\/strong> (VDH) is dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of Virginians. The VDH is made up of a statewide Central Office in Richmond and 35 local health districts. (vdh.virginia.gov)<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"Ballad Health<\/strong> is an integrated community health improvement organization serving 29 counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina, and Southeast Kentucky. (balladhealth.org)<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association<\/strong> (VHHA) is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both healthcare & health. (vhha.com)<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"This work was supported in part by the Institute for Public Health Innovation<\/strong> (IPHI) CHWs for a Healthy VA Initiative, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. IPHI is a nonprofit that adds capacity to the public health system in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. (institutephi.org)<\/a>\r\n\r\n
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Challenge<\/h2>\r\nIn Virginia, many patients visiting Ballad Health\u2019s emergency department (ED) faced significant health-related social needs (HRSNs) and other non-medical challenges\u2014such as food insecurity, housing instability, and lack of transportation\u2014that contributed to frequent hospital visits and ED utilization.\r\n\r\nHowever, without a centralized platform for care coordination, connecting these patients to appropriate community resources can often be a time-consuming, fragmented process, making it difficult for Community Health Workers (CHWs) to track referrals and follow-up on patient outcomes.\r\n\r\nBallad Health was one of many healthcare systems in Virginia that needed a scalable solution to streamline referrals to community-based organizations<\/span>, strengthen collaboration with community partners, and measure the impact of these efforts on ED utilization.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_8761\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1719\"]\"\" Mayes KD, Cash RE, Schiavoni KH, et al. Social Risk, Social Need, and Use of the Emergency Department. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(1):e2352365. doi:10.1001\/ jamanetworkopen.2023.52365.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n
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Solution<\/h2>\r\nThe creation and implementation of the Unite Virginia network gave Ballad Health and other Virginia-based healthcare providers the solution they were looking for.\r\n\r\nBallad Health, equipped a team of their community health workers (CHWs) with the Unite Us closed-loop referral system to facilitate referrals among their patient population. They aimed to reduce unnecessary ED visits and improve patient outcomes by helping patients receive the social support they needed. By integrating referral data from Unite Us\u2019 platform with ED utilization data, Ballad Health sought to determine if connecting patients to community resources such as benefits navigation, food, and housing could reduce ED visits and improve health outcomes.\r\n\r\nUsing the Unite Us platform, Ballad Health CHWs (and other partners in the Unite Virginia network)<\/i> can:\r\n