IPC The Hospitalist Co., Steward Health Care System Ink Definitive Deals

(RTTNews) - IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc. (IPCM), a national hospitalist physician practice company, reported signing definitive deals with Steward Health Care System LLC and its wholly-owned medical group Steward Medical Group Inc. or SMG for the provision of acute care hospitalist services. This transaction represents a significant expansion of IPC's existing partnership with Steward, where IPC currently holds one facility contract; also representing a significant expansion for IPC's Massachusetts operation, which has serviced and would continue to service numerous acute and post-acute facilities.

Following the deal closure, IPC would assume responsibility for the operation and management of hospitalist services at nine Steward acute care hospitals. IPC would buy the existing hospitalist operations of SMG.

Separately, Steward and nine of its affiliated hospitals would reach long-term exclusive service agreements with IPC, where IPC would assume responsibility for hospitalist staffing, clinical leadership, and performance management. This partnership would comprise the following Steward hospitals: Carney Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Merrimack Valley Hospital, Morton Hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center, New England Sinai Hospital, Norwood Hospital, Quincy Medical Center, and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center.

The transaction is slated to close in September 2013. IPC's combined incremental hospitalist volume from this expanded partnership is estimated at about 150,000 encounters on an annualized basis.