African American Health&Wellness
A Very Different Approach to Healthcare Bluerock Offers Older Adults Care Without Obstacles
D
r. Marc Berg brings a unique and critical perspective to the American healthcare system. Born and raised in the Netherlands, Berg is a European-trained physician and a former professor. After nearly 15 years as a healthcare consultant working to find better ways to deliver medical services in Europe and the U.S., Berg finally decided that the best way he could address patient needs was by founding his own clinic. With Bluerock Care, Berg aims to create a better patient experience for older adults living east of the Ana-
by Elizabeth O’Gorek
ing at somebody’s body. It’s always about the whole person. In our philosophy, that’s just incredibly important.” Bluerock Care began offering virtual, telephone and at-home primary care services in May 2020. Berg expects to open the clinic location in fall of this year.
“Healthcare is Broken”
Berg has always had a passion for making healthcare a better interaction for both patients and providers. He trained as a doctor but realized early in his career that he wanted to work with the healthcare system and with providers to create and deliver a patient-centered healthcare experience. After finishing his medical degree, Berg worked as a professor of health policy and management at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management in Rotterdam before shifting gears to consulting. For seven years, he worked with providers, insurance companies and hospitals in the Netherlands to better organize the provision of healthcare. In 2013, he came to Washington, DC to be closer to his wife’s family, continuing his work here. In the United States, Berg found a healthcare system facing many challenges he had seen at home, but with an extra layer. Whereas most European countries have universal healthcare systems, providing all residents Bluerock Care Founder and CEO Dr. Marc Berg. Photo: Courtesy Bluerock Care with equal access regardless of ability to pay, the high cost of American medical care creates an additional barrier costia River. Providers consider the total person, movfor many patients. ing beyond the body to help the patient address lifestyle About a year ago, Berg decided that rather than helpand health goals. ing other providers implement his ideas, he would start “What we’re doing –this kind of primary care –is and incorporating those lessons into practice himself. That should be integrated with community support services, was the genesis of Bluerock Care. with social services,” Berg said. “It is not just about look14
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Berg wanted his ideas to have the greatest impact possible. He knew that the area with the largest gaps in healthcare infrastructure and so most in need of strength and innovation was in Wards 7 and 8. “The need of the people there is the highest, the challenges to getting good healthcare is the highest, and the inequalities of the impact of poor healthcare and other factors like access to fresh food all come together. It just felt like the best possible place to start doing something like this,” he said. Berg started talking with members of the community, working with Grapevine Health founder and Former Medicaid Chief Medical Officer Lisa Fitzpatrick. The team worked to get a sense of the needs in the community and what could be learned from what was going on in the community already to inform the opening of Bluerock Care.
A Patient-Centered Experience
Bluerock Care aims to offer easily accessible healthcare, with a focus on providing mature patients with a unique, patient-centered experience. They do this by providing multiple access points for care, working to address all the patient’s health needs, and providing guidance through the mire of referrals and insurance that often confuse and encumber patients. There are two reasons for a focus on older patients, Berg said. First, elderly patients often need more than one type of care. Often, patients are left to co-ordinate their own care and find their own providers. “It’s incredibly confusing to even know where you should go, who does what, how to get the right kind of insurance –everything is confusing,” Berg said. “For some elderly people, that’s just an impossible task.” Second, while there are several healthcare centers offering service to those on Medicaid, there is not a great deal of infrastructure east of the river for people on Medicare, Berg said. “This is also a group that needs specific attention the most, that really need a longer-term focus on managing chronic conditions,” he said. “That just wasn’t there.” The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency of the federal government that pays for Medicare, has selected Bluerock Care to be part of an innovation that allows providers to invest in population health, working with community organizations to focus on prevention and keeping people healthy, as opposed to treatment.
