
CaroNova, formerly the Carolinas Health Innovation Institute, is a new partnership among the foundations at the North Carolina Healthcare Association, the South Carolina Hospital Association and The Duke Endowment. CaroNova’s purpose is to align leaders across the Carolinas in pursuit of a better and more equitable system of care. Simply put, we believe that all Carolinians should have an equal opportunity to lead a healthy life.
CaroNova is in the process of building additional tools and a full website to share information about our work and focus. Our temporary splash page can be found at CaroNova.org.
Download CaroNova’s Executive Summary
Healthcare spending has grown at an unsustainable pace. While costs are escalating, health outcomes are worsening. A large contributor is a fragmented care system. COVID-19 has exposed inequalities and shortcomings, while only widening the gap. By stitching together component funding and aligning efforts across the healthcare spectrum, we can develop a more equitable, sustainable system of care that alleviates uncertainty and creates a more level playing field.
CaroNova, designed to serve as a common thread, offers the infrastructure to support necessary reforms to our healthcare system. CaroNova’s purpose is to align leaders across the Carolinas in pursuit of a better and more equitable system of care.
WHO WE WORK WITH:
- NC and SC hospitals (major systems, small and rural hospitals) and other providers
- Non-profits involved in healthcare and other community-based initiatives
- State Medicaid plans, Offices of Rural Health, DHHS and DHEC
- Insurance companies
- Policy makers
- Funders
WAYS WE SUPPORT:
- Unite promising practices with payment and policy changes needed for scale and sustainability
- Innovate and test solutions to validate data for policy and systems change
- Design payment pathways so that funders can act as seed capital for payor commitment
- Present research and evaluation support for new care delivery models to ensure equitable care in underserved communities
- Develop a shared agenda that amplifies community voices to executives and/or legislators
- Discover new opportunities to invest in through environmental scanning
- Empower community voice to realize return on investment
- Provide shared incentives/opportunities for co design such as risk free pilots and demonstrations to develop models of care worth paying for
We are looking to engage partners to better understand needs, evaluate promising practices, and co design innovative solutions that ensure equity in health.
CaroNova
Accelerating the Future of Health
Access Health
The Access Health initiative includes community-based networks of care across the North and South Carolina providing access to coordinated primary and specialty healthcare services for the low-income, uninsured.
Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas
Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas is a community-based approach to addressing chronic health issues, such as unhealthy weight, diabetes and heart disease.
SERIOUS ILLNESS CARE
The Serious Illness Work Group launched in January 2020 to identify partnerships that could help co-design innovative solutions to equitably improve serious illness care across the Carolinas.
HOME HOSPITAL ACCELERATOR
Through a collaboration between CaroNova and Ariadne Labs, we have launched the Home Hospital Early Adopters Accelerator Program, a fused network of early home hospital adopters that collectively learn and move fast to support health care systems to further develop their own home hospital programs.
For more information, please contact Jai Kumar.
NCHA Staff Contact

Julia Wacker, MSW, MSPH
Executive Director
CaroNova
919-677-4171
jwacker@ncha.org

LaPonda Edmondson, DrPH, MHS
Senior Director of Evaluation,
CaroNova
919-677-4125
ledmondson@ncha.org

Jai Kumar, MPH
Senior Director
Program Design
CaroNova
919-677-4157
jkumar@ncha.org

Madison Ward Willis, MPA
Program Manager
CaroNova
919-677-4136
mward@ncha.org

Jill Armbruster
Senior Director of Communications
CaroNova
803-479-1109
jarmbruster@NCHA.org
Click here to view CaroNova’s
full staff roster.