Physician staffing company CEP America has gained a foothold in New Jersey with a contract to staff the emergency department at St. Mary's General Hospital.
St. Mary's, which is owned by Prime Healthcare, has the only emergency room in Passaic, N.J., and serves surrounding communities such as Clifton, Rutherford, East Rutherford, Garfield, Wallington, and Lyndhurst among others, according to a news release..
It also is a certified primary stroke center and a licensed Comprehensive Cardiac Center, providing a broad range of cardiovascular services.
“Collaboration and transparent communication among our physician leaders, staff and departments is imperative in delivering high quality, patient-centered care," said Edward Condit, CEO of St. Mary's. “Our partnership with CEP America reflects our commitment to meaningful integration and collaborative care at both the micro and macro levels of healthcare systems.”
CEP America replaces about a dozen or so St. Mary's ER physicians who were employed by TeamHealth, said Dr. Hartwell Lin, a regional director at CEP America. Most of them have signed on to CEP America, he said. A TeamHealth spokesperson said the company chose not to bid for the St. Mary's contract.
CEP America, which offers ER staffing, hospitalists, anesthesiology and emergency psychiatry specialties, contracts with at least two other Prime Healthcare hospitals. That experience helped in responding to St. Mary's request for proposal, Lin said.
Third-party physician staffing companies are experiencing rapid growth as hospitals outsource departments and independent physician practices look for capital to put in information technology and processes to comply with new Medicare reimbursement requirements.
CEP America is now in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Its more than 1,800 physicians each own part of the company. Those physicians and advanced practice clinicians treated more than 6 million patients last year in hospitals and other settings.
