MemorialCare Health System in Southern California Announces Its Affiliation With Greater Newport Physicians; Acquisition of Nautilus Healthcare Management Group

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System announced today the affiliation of Greater Newport Physicians with its MemorialCare Medical Foundation and the acquisition of Nautilus Healthcare Management Group, Greater Newport's affiliated management services organization.

Greater Newport Physicians, created by a group of physicians in 1985 to improve health care for the community, serves more than 100,000 Orange County residents through its 400 physicians, comprised of 140 in primary care and more than 250 representing over 50 specialties. With 400 plus employees, Nautilus Healthcare Management offers services to physician groups, Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) and physician offices.

"We are proud to expand our family of providers to deliver even more of the high quality, comprehensive care MemorialCare is known for," says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., MemorialCare Health System president & CEO. "The strength of this new, deeper partnership between Greater Newport Physicians and MemorialCare is rooted in our shared values and passionate commitment to superior quality and exceptional service. Greater Newport Physicians will operate as the Independent Practice Association, or IPA division of MemorialCare Medical Foundation."

"MemorialCare has wide geographic coverage in Orange and Los Angeles counties, offering a full continuum of care with close to 1 million annual patient encounters," says Diane Laird, Greater Newport Physicians CEO. "We're excited about joining this nationally recognized system, which operates physician groups, six hospitals and numerous outpatient clinics. Health plans are increasingly moving to narrow networks, which only include providers demonstrating they can manage costs and offer excellent care. Partnering with MemorialCare will provide us with an unparalleled opportunity for future growth and continued success."

Greater Newport Physicians' primary care physicians, specialists, nurses and other clinical and support staff will continue to provide quality care and services for its patients and their family members, with continued access to area hospitals.

"What is changing is our ability to expand our network of hospitals and providers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and, therefore, provide patients with additional access to our physicians," explains Catherine Campion, M.D., Greater Newport Physicians president. "By affiliating with MemorialCare, we will now be contracted with more health plans, making them available to our patients, even if their insurance coverage changes. And with Greater Newport Physicians as part of MemorialCare Health System, we'll be offering other physicians outside our current service area the additional option to be part of MemorialCare Medical Foundation's new IPA division."

According to Patrick Kapsner, MemorialCare Medical Foundation CEO, "MemorialCare recognizes that Nautilus, with its highly skilled and experienced workforce, is uniquely suited to fill the need for IPA and physician management services within the MemorialCare Medical Foundation. The Nautilus team of more than 400 employees has played an extraordinary role in helping Greater Newport Physicians achieve the exceptional quality outcomes it's known for, and we are proud to welcome the staff into the MemorialCare family of employees."

Physicians choosing to align with hospitals are seeking different partnership options. The nearly 3,000 physicians now aligned with MemorialCare Health System are afforded a number of opportunities, such as maintaining an independent practice or working in medical groups or IPAs. For others, including the 135 physicians in MemorialCare Medical Group, which is part of the MemorialCare Medical Foundation, an employment-type affiliation works best for them. With Greater Newport Physicians, there is now an IPA option in the Medical Foundation.

"Critical to this broad ranging, pluralistic physician partnership approach is MemorialCare's full commitment to maintaining strong relationships with other independent medical groups and IPAs," says Frank Marino, M.D., chair of MemorialCare Physician Society. The Society drives the health system's clinical standards and performance, electronic medical records, coordination of care inside and outside the hospitals, physician leadership opportunities and other programs. "MemorialCare is continually expanding our broad menu of opportunities to partner with our medical staff in ways that better serve patient needs and secure the future for our physicians."

MemorialCare Health System is nationally recognized for leadership in best-practice, evidence-based medicine and advanced technologies. The nonprofit MemorialCare, with 12,000 employees and 3,000 affiliated physicians includes Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente, many outpatient facilities, retail health clinics, graduate medical education and clinical training.

MemorialCare Medical Foundation, a nonprofit medical management organization, contracts with physician groups in Orange and Los Angeles counties to offer comprehensive medical care to patients. The medical group network, representing 135 employed physicians, more than 800 contracted specialists and 1,225 employees, allows physicians and hospitals to work together toward an integrated approach to health care delivery. Its many honors include consistently being selected by Integrated Healthcare Association as one of California's top-rated physician groups.

Greater Newport Physicians was created in 1985 to improve care for the community. Its 400 physicians serve more than 100,000 Orange County residents. The multi-specialty Independent Practice Association has more than 140 primary care physicians plus a network of 250 physicians representing over 50 specialties. A leader and innovator in Electronic Medical Records solutions, it received the California Association of Physician Groups' 4-Star Elite status for achievements in quality of care, patient satisfaction, care coordination and health information technology.

Nautilus Healthcare Management Group,a management services organization, offers physician groups and private physicians a full spectrum of services such as physician billing, practice management, accounting and electronic medical records implementation and support. Nautilus' comprehensive management services to IPAs include utilization management, customer service, claims processing and quality reporting. Clients include Greater Newport Physicians, Edinger Medical Group, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group and Cedars-Sinai Health Associates.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System