Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, UT Health Science Center, and UT Medical Group Create UT Methodist Physicians
Memphis, Tenn. (Aug. 30, 2013) – Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) has partnered with UT Medical Group, Inc. (UTMG) and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to create a new academic physician practice group that will enhance the delivery of specialty care and hospital-based medical services in the Memphis area. The new group, called UT Methodist Physicians (UTMP), launches September 1, 2013 and includes UTMG physicians who have a strong history of affiliation with Methodist.
UTMP specialties will include urology, surgical oncology, and most adult medicine specialties, such as internal medicine, pulmonology and endocrinology. As of Aug. 30, 53 UTMG physicians in those areas and 80 supporting staff members will join UTMP and become MLH associates. Most physicians joining UTMP will continue to care for patients at their current UTMG locations. UTMP will also include other physicians from the Memphis area. Initially, seven doctors from other practices will join the group, with more to be added in the coming months.
“As Methodist continues to align with physician practices whose goals closely mirror ours, this is the right thing to do for our patients,” said Gary S. Shorb, president and chief executive officer of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. “It will ensure that we are all on the same page regarding quality measures and efficiency of patient care.”
The UTMP collaboration is similar to the successful formation in 2011 of UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists (ULPS) by UTMG, MLH, and UTHSC. The creation of that group strengthened the pediatric practices at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, supported recruitment of additional outstanding sub-specialists, and helped it achieve national recognition.
“The formation of UTMP is another significant step in the expanding relationship between the Health Science Center and our hospital partners,” said David M. Stern, MD, executive dean of the UTHSC College of Medicine. “As the state’s only public, academic health science facility, part of our mission is to educate the state’s health care workforce. While fulfilling this important role, we teach physicians and other health care professionals to serve every patient with the most compassionate, highest quality care available, without regard to a patient’s socioeconomic situation. This new faculty practice deepens our existing relationship with Methodist, making our faculty part of the core team of talented clinicians who will deliver top-quality adult patient care and train future generations of physicians.”
“For more than 30 years, the primary mission of UTMG has been to support the UTHSC College of Medicine,” said Chuck Woeppel, UTMG chief executive officer. “UTMP will help support that mission by better aligning patient care and elements of medical education into organizations that already support these UT services. As UTMG moves forward, we will continue sharpening our focus on our key medical specialties and will maintain our unique ability to serve multiple hospital systems.”
Chris Jenkins will serve as administrative director for UT Methodist Physicians. He was previously an administrator at Methodist University Hospital. Jessica Harrison, formerly clinic administrator at UT Medical Group, will be UTMP’s director of operations. For more information about UTMP, visitwww.methodisthealth.org/utmp.
About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) is an integrated health care delivery system based in Memphis, Tenn. Founded in 1918 by The United Methodist Church to help meet the growing needs for quality health care in the Mid-South, MLH has grown from one hospital into a seven-hospital system that also includes a home health agency, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities and physician practices serving the Memphis and Mid-South area.
Methodist was recently named the best hospital in Memphis by U.S. News and World Report, the #2 hospital in Tennessee, and #49 nationally in nephrology. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has consistently been named one of the Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks in the country.
Affiliated with the Memphis, Mississippi and Arkansas Conferences of The United Methodist Church, Methodist Healthcare combines a dedication to the art of healing with a Christ-centered commitment to minister to the whole person.
The Memphis hospitals are licensed as one and with 1,689 licensed beds and 60,431 inpatient admissions, Methodist is the third largest hospital in the country. With 11,000 associates, Methodist is the second largest private employer in Memphis. Methodist Le Bonheur’s major areas of focus are: cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, transplant, and pediatrics. For more information visit www.methodisthealth.org.
About the University of Tennessee Health Science Center
As Tennessee’s only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Offering a broad range of postgraduate and selected baccalaureate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains cohorts of medicine, pharmacy and/or allied health students — in addition to medical residents and fellows — at its major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. Founded in 1911, during its more than 100 years, UT Health Science Center has educated and trained more than 56,000 health care professionals in academic settings and health care facilities across the state. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.
About UT Medical Group
UT Medical Group is a private group practice affiliated with the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine. UTMG physicians balance their dedication to teaching and research while also providing care at most hospitals and many ambulatory clinics in the Mid-South. The practice offers services throughout the community and has a long-standing commitment to advancing medical education while delivering individualized, value-based patient care. UTMG clinicians have played a major role in the development and success of vital programs in the community including the neonatal and high-risk birth centers at Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED), trauma and burn units at The MED, and the liver, kidney and pancreas transplant programs at Methodist University Hospital. UTMG physicians are also proud to be consistently recognized by their peers on the Best Doctors® and Top Doctors® lists.
A not-for-profit, non-tax-supported group practice, UTMG is dedicated to quality patient care, medical education, and medical research. For more information, visit www.utmedicalgroup.com.