Breaking News from MemorialCare Health System: Four Physician Groups Join New MemorialCare Medical Foundation

123 Physicians and 700 Staff Form the New Medical Network

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. and LONG BEACH, Calif., Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System announced today that four Southern California physician groups -- Bristol Park Medical Group, Memorial Family Medicine Group, Memorial Prompt Care and Family Medicine, and Specialty Physicians of Long Beach -- have chosen to partner with MemorialCare Medical Foundation. The medical foundation, a not-for-profit medical management organization, contracts with physician groups to offer patients comprehensive medical care.  

"Affiliation with these physician groups represents an exciting strategic development for our health system as we strive to better serve our communities and offer new options for physicians as health reforms are implemented over the next several years," says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., president and CEO of MemorialCare Health System.  

Each medical group's board of directors and physician shareholders are ratifying affiliation agreements, with transactions finalized in January 2011. Additional physician groups are anticipated to join in the future. The medical group network initially representing 123 physicians and 700 employees caring for patients throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties includes:

• Bristol Park Medical Group, with 10 locations throughout Orange County, has a 50-year history of serving the community with more than 90 physicians and providers in family medicine, internal and geriatric medicine and pediatrics, plus more than 650 clinical, technical and administrative staff.
• Memorial Family Medicine Medical Group in Long Beach and San Clemente has 11 board certified family medicine physicians, a board-certified geriatrician and a psychologist. The Long Beach site also offers teaching services to 24 family medicine residents plus medical students, nurse practitioners and physician assistant students. 
• Memorial Prompt Care and Family Medicine offers urgent, primary and specialty care in three Orange County locations, with 16 primary care physicians and more than 60 employees.
• Specialty Physicians of Long Beach, a specialty care center of five physicians, covers the specialties of pulmonary disease, medical oncology, cardiology and nuclear imaging.

"The medical foundation is a successful model that has been adopted throughout California, allowing physicians and hospitals to work together to offer an integrated approach to health care delivery," explains Patrick Kapsner, current CEO of Bristol Park Medical Group and a national leader in medical management.  Kapsner assumes the MemorialCare Medical Foundation CEO post on Jan. 1.

"Most of the 2,300 physicians affiliated with our hospitals are active in MemorialCare initiatives," adds Dr. Susan Melvin, board chair, MemorialCare Physician Society which has 2,000 community physicians who drive clinical standards and performance within MemorialCare, with medical outcomes most often exceeding national and regional standards. "The medical foundation is another vehicle that directly aligns physician and hospital initiatives to improve care and boost efficiency."

The not-for-profit MemorialCare Health System is nationally recognized for leadership in best-practice medicine and advanced technologies. MemorialCare includes Long Beach Memorial Medical Center; Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach; Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley; Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente, plus numerous outpatient facilities and programs.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System