ST. LOUIS—EyeCare Partners LLC (ECP), a leading clinically integrated network of ophthalmology and optometry providers, said Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to partner with Sabates Eye Centers (SEC), one of Kansas City’s largest multi-specialty eyecare practices, with five locations throughout Kansas and Missouri. SEC adds 25 providers and 90 eyecare professionals to ECP’s network of more than 1,000 doctors and 7,000 clinical and support team members nationwide, according to the announcement. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ECP, which currently oversees approximately 650 ECP-affiliated practice locations, is a portfolio company of the global private markets firm
Partners Group.
“We are thrilled to have the doctors and clinical and support team professionals of Sabates Eye Centers join our national medical network of optometry and ophthalmology practices,” ECP chief executive officer David Clark said. “Dr. Sabates and his team have a strong reputation of promoting the advancement of eyecare through research and teaching. Together, our expertise, resources and shared knowledge will enable us to continue to deliver outstanding outcomes and experiences for all EyeCare Partners patients for years to come.”
SEC is at the forefront of ophthalmology education and research. The practice has subspecialties in cataract and refractive surgery, cornea, glaucoma, retina, ocular immunology, ocular oncology neuro-ophthalmology and oculo-plastic surgery, and the group treats patients at its five eyecare locations, the announcement stated.
SEC president and chief executive officer Nelson Sabates, MD, founded and chairs the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UKMC) School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and the Vision Research Center at UMKC, which provides the department with a direct avenue for basic science research, translational research and clinical trials. The doctors of SEC serve as faculty and lead the clinical research programs at UKMC.
“Sabates Eye Centers has always been dedicated to advancing the full spectrum of high-quality eyecare, education and research advancements and we provide that to our patients in the Mid-American region,” Dr. Sabates said. “We are excited about our partnership with EyeCare Partners and the additional resources we will now have at our disposal as part of the leading national medical group focused on clinically integrated eyecare.”
EyeCare Partners manages a national network with more than 300 ophthalmologists and 700 optometrists, who provide a lifetime of care to patients with a mission to enhance vision, advance eyecare and improve lives. The group’s 650-plus practice locations provide care in 18 states and 80 markets, providing services that span the eyecare continuum, the group noted.
ECP emphasizes the importance of doctor leadership through medical executive boards that work in partnership with a diverse group of health care business leaders to achieve the best patient outcomes and business results, according to the announcement. ECP supports its practices by leveraging practice management expertise with the resources and knowledge inherent in its national medical group to meet the growing demand for quality eyecare, thus allowing doctors to focus on what they do best—deliver personalized patient care.