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Independent Physicians Collaborative Names New Executive Director
May, 2021
Earl Walz, president of the Independent Physicians Collaborative (IPC) names Karen Palatchi as its new executive director. The IPC is a collaborative of 650+ independent physicians and over 5,000 medical and customer service professionals providing quality care to over 1,300,000 patients annually in the Greater Cincinnati area including Dayton and Northern Kentucky. Mr. Walz states that “We are a collaborative of medical professionals who are working together to provide and preserve the highest quality, most convenient, and most cost-effective healthcare options available to the residents of the Cincinnati Tri-State area. The healthcare consumer is often faced with limited choices together with intimidating and costly experiences when receiving care. Our objective is to help educate and provide our patients with more convenient and affordable access when receiving healthcare.”
Karen Palatchi, RN, MBA, FACMPE was chosen for this leadership position because she brings a wide variety of experience including clinical care, as well as independent physician practice and health system leadership. Ms. Palatchi describes herself as a patient and physician advocate who brings leaders together to create solutions for problems offering creative and value driven options. “I lead physicians and executives to new levels of success by removing barriers and obstacles to goal achievement. For me, healthcare is a passion, not just a profession. I believe that working with the leaders of Greater Cincinnati’s premier physician practices to support the mission of elevating the health of our community is a perfect fit.”
The IPC began organically in 2006 as CEOs from the area’s largest physician groups came together to discuss and address the challenges of healthcare. In 2014 the IPC formalized and Glen Prasser was named its first Executive Director in 2016. Mr. Prasser led the growth of the IPC which provided the means to share best practices among the independent practices, forged a relationship with the Cincinnati Health Collaborative, and has enabled effective networking to address and solve the challenges of providing health care services. This proved especially helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic as the IPC provided education for practices to initiate or expand telehealth services. Mr. Walz congratulates Mr. Prasser on a job well done and his third retirement including: Procter and Gamble, Beacon Orthopaedics and the Independent Physician Collaborative.
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