FastMed-Cornerstone Affiliation to Benefit North Carolina Patients with Preventive, Specialist and Urgent Care Needs
Clayton, NC – March 25 – Cornerstone Health Care, a physician-owned and led multi-disciplinary network of practices located throughout central North Carolina, and FastMed Urgent Care, the largest urgent care network in North Carolina, have launched a clinical affiliation agreement to drive positive quality of care outcomes, improve access to care and reduce healthcare costs for patients.
Cornerstone’s expansive network of more than 375 health care providers in approximately 90 locations will allow FastMed patients to receive follow-up care or seek preventive care and specialist treatment from trusted Cornerstone providers. As many North Carolinians do not have an established primary care physician, this partnership will help them gain access to routine and established primary care through Cornerstone’s patient-centered medical home. Cornerstone has an extensive network of specialist and family care practices which provide expanded access, highly coordinated care, enhanced patient education (for prevention and treatment of chronic disease), and sophisticated technological support.
FastMed’s vast network of 38 North Carolina urgent care clinics will offer patients access to evening and weekend walk-in medical treatment 365 days a year, providing acute care for all non-life threatening illnesses and injuries with state-of-the-art facilities offering caring health care providers, electronic medical records, digital x-rays, and laboratory and advanced testing equipment. In March 2014, FastMed became one of only 37 of the 5,250 non-hospital based urgent care centers in the U.S. and the largest urgent care operator in the country to be awarded The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in ambulatory health care.
“Both FastMed Urgent Care and Cornerstone Health Care are focused on providing patients high quality medical care, positive treatment outcomes and reduced medical costs,” said Jason A. Williams MPAS, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Eastern Region and Founder of FastMed. “This affiliation incorporates FastMed into Cornerstone’s patient-centered medical home, insuring patients receive the right care at the right time.”
“We believe that by improving access to care and partnering with our patients and their families to focus on prevention and chronic illness, we can simultaneously improve our patients’ health and their experiences with the health care system,” said Michael Ogden, MD, Chief Clinical Integration Officer. “Cornerstone’s providers put emphasis on quality of care, rather than quantity of care, and so do FastMed providers, so this joint venture is part of our commitment to our patients.”
Throughout 2014, FastMed and Cornerstone will continue to increase their presence throughout North Carolina, providing access to primary care, specialty care and urgent care in communities that are underserved or have limited access to high quality, affordable healthcare.
For more information on the FastMed-Cornerstone affiliation, please visit www.fastmed.com/CHC or www.cornerstonehealth.com/fastmed.
About Cornerstone Health Care
One of the fastest-growing physician groups in the Southeast, Cornerstone is a physician-owned and led multi-disciplinary practice with more than 375 physicians and advance practice providers in over 90 locations throughout central North Carolina. Based in High Point, N.C., Cornerstone is transitioning from the traditional “fee-for-service” model to a patient-centered medical home system. Our healthcare professionals are committed to providing our patients with high quality health care that is patient centered, safe, efficient and timely. For more information, visit www.cornerstonehealth.com.
About FastMed Urgent Care
FastMed Urgent Care is an owner and operator of urgent care facilities with locations throughout North Carolina and Arizona. FastMed focuses on the delivery of non-appointment based medicine to the non-emergency patient market. The urgent care centers are open 365 days a year and are staffed with experienced and licensed physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. In 2012, FastMed’s strategic collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina enabled FastMed to expand its network of urgent care clinics, increasing access to convenient, high quality urgent care locally while reining in medical costs. For more information, please visit www.fastmed.com. FastMed is managed by an affiliated entity of one of the investment funds of the Comvest Group.
About the Comvest Group:
The Comvest Group, with $1.2 billion of assets under management, provides flexible financing solutions to lower middle-market companies through its equity and debt funds, often meeting time-critical and complex funding requirements. The firm includes seasoned, senior level operating executives who partner with managers and owners of companies to operationally improve businesses and create long-term value. Since 2000, Comvest has invested more than $1.5 billion of capital in over 105 public and private companies. For more information, please visit www.comvest.com.
Contact:
Steffany Whiting
Marketing and Business Development Officer
Cornerstone Health Care
Phone: 336.870.6876
Email: steffany.whiting@cornerstonehealthcare.com
Reuel Heyden
Sr. Dir. of Communications & Marketing
FastMed Urgent Care
Phone: 919.550.0821×1016
Email: r.heyden@fastmed.com