Brand Story – AllCare Health CEO Max Janasik joins the CCO to help deliver local care to Southern Oregon.
In southern Oregon, a Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) AllCare Health looks beyond the medical setting to address the foundation of individual and overall health: community wellbeing. With experience serving diverse populations, new CEO Max Janasik shares the organization’s belief that healthier communities and lasting positive outcomes start with local solutions.
Uniquely, the health care network is owned by a group of nearly 50 doctors and nurse practitioners who utilize their frontline experience to steer AllCare Health toward initiatives that reflect their patients’ struggles.
“Each community is different in its health infrastructure and needs. You have to be on the ground to understand how to make it work,” explains Dr. Kelley Burnett, Chief Medical Officer, AllCare Health. “To really address health, the relationship piece and an understanding of the community and public health are really important.”
The CCO serves a broad swath of Oregon spanning the counties of Jackson, Josephine, Curry and parts of Douglas, from coastal hamlets to inland cities. In pursuit of whole-person solutions, AllCare Health responds to the distinct social conditions of each community, from built environments to education, transportation and beyond.
Janasik understands the intricacies of matching localized needs with local solutions. He is relocating to Grants Pass from Hood River, where he served as CEO of nonprofit One Community Health of Hood River, Oregon, a federally qualified health center supporting underserved populations across four counties in the Mid-Columbia River region.
“Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed time and again that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health care,” Janasik notes. “Each community comes with its own history, cultures and social realities. All of this factors into determining our response.”
AllCare Health’s business structure influenced Janasik’s decision to join the team: As an Oregon Benefit Company and certified B Corp, AllCare Health is free to invest back into the community rather than being obligated to simply maximize profit. This fundamentally impacts the board’s decision-making and the organization’s priorities.
“Our structure gives us the freedom to find and fund creative ways to address health needs. Because of that, AllCare has an impressive legacy of inventive problem-solving,” Janasik explains. “If we secure excellent medical care, but we have community members who can’t access it due to insufficient transportation, then that becomes a health care matter in our eyes.”
Social issues manifest differently in each community, so AllCare Health’s responses do too. It funds initiatives taking on major problems, like domestic abuse, houselessness, food insecurity, language access, health equity and natural disasters. In addition to funding community housing or recovery programs, for example, AllCare Health also works upstream to prevent negative outcomes. It supports the Good Behavior Game, an evidenced-based classroom management program that recognizes students for positive behavior rather than misbehavior.
“Why is a health care company getting involved in the classroom? Well, for the kids who go through the Good Behavior Game for a year, we see a 70 percent decrease in smoking, and suicide rates drop,” Josh Balloch, Vice-President of Health Policy, AllCare health. “These are the types of investments that really impact the long-term health of the community.”
Its investment in language services represents another example of its proactive health care approach. Medical interpreters play a crucial role in helping the region’s large Spanish-speaking population access care. When interpreters lost employment opportunities during the pandemic, AllCare Health feared that they would change careers or move away, leaving a shortage in the region. In response, the organization offered them employment opportunities at local food banks, which drew hundreds of Spanish speakers needing services.
“AllCare has really been a leader on the community front. The social safety net has a lot of holes,” Balloch continues. “We also have a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors, behavioral health providers and cardiologists. Since we’re locally based and locally engaged, we make sure that care is available in our communities. “
Unlike larger statewide or nationwide health care networks, AllCare Health only covers about 70,000 people, meaning it has an incentive to provide care to everyone, from large cities to 500-person towns.
Being a CCO, it relies on close collaboration and communication at all levels. Its steadily growing referral network allows providers to direct patients to nonmedical services.
“Someone recently asked me for the definition of success for CCOs,” Balloch recalls. “And I said that, as a patient, it would mean that all of a sudden, your doctor knows a lot more people in the community who are able to help you. That’s the value of coordinated care.”
Still in the early days of his new position, Janasik is taking the time to meet with providers and learn about their communities.
“I really want to start by just listening and hearing peoples’ stories,” he concludes. “It’s only by truly understanding our local communities that we can understand our role in driving positive outcomes.”
Brand stories are paid content articles that allow Oregon Business advertisers to share news about their organizations and engage with readers on business and public policy issues. The stories are produced in house by the Oregon Business marketing department. For more information, contact associate publisher Courtney Kutzman.
