LLR Partners, a middle market private equity firm with more than USD1.4bn under management, and WellPoint have made a growth capital investment in Physicians Immediate Care LLC.
LLR Partners, a middle market private equity firm with more than USD1.4bn under management, and WellPoint have made a growth capital investment in Physicians Immediate Care LLC.
Physicians Immediate Care provides management services to 20 independently-owned medical clinics in Illinois, Nebraska and Oklahoma. These clinics offer urgent care, occupational medicine, physical therapy and employer services such as physicals and drug screening.
The financing will be used to expand the network and enhance the patient care offering of the clinics managed by Physicians Immediate Care.
A veteran of the healthcare services industry, Stanley B. Blaylock also invested in Physicians Immediate Care and is joining the company as president and chief executive officer. Blaylock most recently was the president of Walgreens Health Services, the managed care and specialty services division of Walgreens.
“Rising costs, a shortage of primary care physicians and crowded ERs are driving consumers to seek more convenient, cost-effective care,” says Scott Perricelli, partner on the healthcare services investment team at LLR Partners. “The demand has escalated urgent care to a multi-billion dollar industry serving more than 150 million patient visits per year, but no single provider owns more than a small share. Under the proven leadership of Stan and his management team, Physicians Immediate Care LLC has the opportunity to enhance the position of Physicians Immediate Care clinics in this market by striving to deliver better, faster and more affordable healthcare.”
“This investment aligns with WellPoint’s strategy to expand growth outside of our core insurance business and provide consumers with convenient, affordable access to health care – in this case, within a retail environment,” says Brett Moraski, vice president of transformation and head of HealthyCare Solutions for WellPoint.
Blaylock will join the board of directors at Physicians Immediate Care LLC, along with John Koehler, founder and chief medical officer of the Physicians Immediate Care clinics.
