Seattle companies make plans for new innovation hub
Cambia Health Solutions, based in Portland, Ore., plans to establish The Cambia Grove, a collaborative facility in Seattle that will serve as a hub to foster innovation and transformation in the healthcare industry on a national level.
The Cambia Grove will provide space for innovators and entrepreneurs to collaborate with healthcare providers, businesses, the public sector and health plans to identify and develop solutions to pressing industry challenges, according to a release.
The Cambia Grove’s first partners include UW Medicine, Regence BlueShield and Qliance. Additional partners will be announced when the newly built, 9,000-square-foot facility opens its doors during the first quarter of 2015. Led by executive director Nicole Bell, the collaborative initiative will also be supported by an advisory panel comprised of industry experts from across the health, business and public sector communities.
“Our mission is to establish a hub where we can collectively do for healthcare what this region has done for technology, coffee, aerospace and online retail,” Bell said. “Bringing complementary elements together will drive improvements in healthcare products, technology and services to raise the overall quality of care and shift the focus to the consumer.”
“The Cambia Grove will serve as a center for healthcare innovation, convening like-minded stakeholders across the industry, and the country. Our collective focus will be to identify challenges and work together to catalyze innovative solutions that will improve the current system for the greater good,” said Rob Coppedge, senior vice president of strategic investments for Cambia Health Solutions. “The creation of the Cambia Grove is an important part of our work to transform healthcare and our responsibility as members of the broader healthcare community. This next step allows us to seek out partners who share our vision of a more consumer-centric and economically sustainable healthcare system."
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.