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August 12, 2014

Reliant, Southboro Medical pursue merger, break with Atrius Health

Reliant Medical Group of Worcester and Southboro Medical Group are looking to merge, potentially creating an organization of more than 300 physicians that would serve about 300,000 patients throughout Central Massachusetts, the organizations announced Tuesday.

Reliant and Southboro, both multi-specialty medical group practices that are part of the Atrius Health Network, have decided to withdraw from that group, the statement also said.

“We feel … that Reliant Medical Group can best fulfill its responsibilities to its patients and employees by maintaining our current operating structure and remaining focused on growth and service enhancement opportunities here in the Central Massachusetts region,” Dr. Armin Ernst, Reliant’s president and CEO, said in the statement, distributed by Reliant. “Both organizations have a history of providing high-quality, nationally recognized care.  Together, we will be creating the region’s most robust ambulatory healthcare delivery system.”

Reliant and Southboro are two of the six medical groups in Massachusetts that are Atrius affiliates.  The six groups had been in the middle of “an intensive strategic planning process for several months,” the statement read, leading to a recommendation by the Atrius board to merge all six groups.  But “after a careful and comprehensive review of a revised merger proposal, both Reliant and Southboro have chosen to opt out …, choosing instead to pursue a future together,” the statement read.

“Similar to Reliant, Southboro Medical Group felt it was in the best interests of our patients and our staff to withdraw from Atrius … to focus on the needs of the communities in our service area,” said Dr. Alan Lobovits, president of Southboro Medical, in the same statement. “Southboro Medical Group shares Reliant’s enthusiasm about what the future may hold if we merge the two groups. We believe that as a combined organization we will be able to provide enhanced services to our patients in the MetroWest region that we otherwise would not be able to do alone.”

The two medical groups have experience partnering with each other independently and as part of Atrius, the statement said.  Earlier this year, Reliant opened a new medical office at Southboro’s 24 Newton Street medical center in Southborough.  In addition, Southboro Medical sends a specialty physician to a Reliant site to serve patients.

Over the next several months, Reliant and Southboro will work with Boston-based Atrius to execute the formal withdrawal of each organization, although there is no timeline yet in place, Reliant said, adding that a withdrawal from Atrius won’t impact patient care for either group.

Reliant, formerly the Fallon Clinic, has annual revenue of about $430 million and employs about 1,500 across 20 locations. Southboro, founded in 1972, has more than 90 medical providers and more than 450 employees at offices in Southborough, Framingham, Milford and Westborough.

In its own statement, Atrius said the intended merger of the six medical groups is intended “to better meet the demands of our current health-care environment.”  Acknowledging the intention of Reliant and Southboro Medical, Atrius said it’s committed to ensuring patient care is not disrupted during the transition.

(Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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