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Contact: Reiley Matthews Administrative Assistant – Communications VCP (804) 887-2166
Fortify Children’s Health and Virginia Care Partners Announce New Collaboration to Expand Pediatric Value-Based Care Opportunities for Providers to Support Optimal Care for Children
Charlottesville, VA, Norfolk, VA & Richmond, VA — Fortify Children’s Health (Fortify) and Virginia Care Partners (VCP) today announced a new cross-network agreement designed to expand access to value-based care arrangements and pediatric clinical resources for providers across the Commonwealth of Virginia. As part of this agreement, patients will have greater access to care coordination and pediatric primary and specialty care to support their unique health needs.
Effective January 1, 2026, the agreement creates a structured pathway for eligible providers within each organization’s network to participate, by election, in select value-based contracts offered by the other organization. Under the agreement, Fortify and VCP will maintain independent governance and provider relationships while coordinating cross-network participation in defined payer contracts. Each organization will continue to provide care management support, performance monitoring, and analytics aligned with the requirements of each applicable contract.
“I am thrilled by the strong alignment between Fortify Children’s Health and Virginia Care Partners in support of our mission, advancing the health and optimal well-being of every child across the Commonwealth. This partnership creates a powerful opportunity to innovate and expand the impact of pediatric population health initiatives. Together, we are poised to enhance both the quality of care and access to pediatric services, ensuring that every child and adolescent across the Commonwealth can receive the care they need to thrive.” - Dr. Suzanne Brixey, Executive Director of Fortify Children’s Health
“This new collaboration will further Virginia Care Partners’ decade long mission of delivering meaningful value and support for our physician community. Our goal is to provide tools and resources that empower physicians to realize better outcomes, reduce the cost of care, and enable a more satisfying experience with their patients. The agreement with Fortify Children’s Health is an innovative approach to help drive that vision forward.” - Gerard Filicko, Regional Vice President of Value-Based Care for the HCA Healthcare Capital and North Carolina Divisions
The agreement supports provider participation in a range of commercial and Medicaid value-based contracts and reinforces both organizations’ commitment to enhancing patient experience, improving pediatric population health outcomes, and being responsible financial stewards of health care expenditures. Both organizations were recently recognized as 2025 Care Provider Recognition Program Award Winners by Elevance Health for being in the top 1% of national provider groups based on quality performance. This shared recognition demonstrates the significant positive impact Fortify and VCP are making on improving the quality of care provided across the Commonwealth.
About Fortify Children’s Health
Fortify Children’s Health was founded in 2018 by Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and UVA Health Children’s as a pediatric clinically integrated network with the mission of optimal health and well-being for every child. Comprising more than 1,000 pediatric, family medicine, specialty providers and two health systems, our membership is dedicated to the implementation of pediatric-focused standards of care. These collaborative efforts aim to coordinate resources effectively and accelerate the utilization of data and analytics to enhance outcomes while concurrently reducing costs. Fortify's overarching belief is that by empowering pediatric clinicians to take the lead in Virginia's transition to population health, the network can foster improved child health and make pediatric care more cost-effective.
About Virginia Care Partners
Virginia Care Partners is a physician-led clinically integrated network serving Central Virginia, bringing together more than 1,100 primary care and specialty providers across the healthcare continuum. VCP collaborates with insurers, employers, and hospital systems to manage value-based and accountable care contracts, with a focus on care coordination, practice transformation, and data-driven population health strategies. Founded by physicians, VCP is committed to improving quality outcomes, enhancing the patient experience, and lowering the total cost of healthcare.