Few people locally outside Hartford HealthCare (HHC) may know about Iora Health, which provided care for HHC employees and their families from 2015 to Aug. 2017, but now serves the broader public, albeit a focused niche.
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Few people locally outside Hartford HealthCare (HHC) may know about Iora Health, which provided care for HHC employees and their families from 2015 to Aug. 2017, but now serves the broader public, albeit a focused niche.
Iora Primary Care, part of Boston-based Iora Health, opened its first public office in Connecticut last September to serve patients 65 and over on Medicare. It's in Hartford's Avery Heights senior community, but is not exclusive to those residents.
Dr. Rina Garcia, with Iora since 2015 and on Yale's internal medicine faculty before that, is the office's sole doctor for now. The team also includes health coaches, a behavioral health specialist, nurse and more.
While Iora's contract with HHC expired, Iora maintains a good relationship with HHC and connects to its electronic medical records, Garcia said.
“Providing our patients with access to the best hospitals and specialists, and tightly coordinated with them, is vitally important to our high-impact, relationship model,” she said. That model has driven high satisfaction rates, fewer hospitalizations and, often, lower patient costs, she noted.
Iora — named after a colorful songbird in Sri Lanka where Iora's co-founder and CEO is from — hopes to spread its wings with more Connecticut offices for older adults. Iora Health, founded in 2010, has 24 offices in seven states.
What makes Iora different than other providers?
We have a team to support patients and their needs that are often beyond a typical doctor's definition of primary care. We spend more time with patients to get to know them and help them live better lives versus just focusing on a symptom. We treat the full person with groups and classes and other activities.
Why did Iora focus on Medicare patients over 65?
Because these people often need more support and time that we can give.
What's the biggest challenge facing Iora?
Getting the word out about us and the differences in what we provide.
What's the competitive landscape like?
There are other primary care doctors, but I'm not sure if there's anyone quite like us, focused on serving the older generation's needs.
