Emergency and hospital medicine management companies Schumacher Clinical Partners (formerly Schumacher Group) and ECI Healthcare Partners Inc. of Traverse City, Mich., announced on April 22 that they are joining forces.
The two companies say combining their networks will allow for an expansion of resources, growth of service offerings and the utilization of industry leading best practices. Lafayette-based Schumacher is the much larger corporation, and its combination with ECI solidifies its position as the No. 3 provider in the country behind No. 2 TeamHealth and No. 1 EmCare.
Schumacher, which ranks No. 1 on ABiz’s list of the Top 50 Private Companies in the region, already covers 28 states serving 6 million patients. After the merger is complete during this year’s second quarter, Schumacher will offer 450 programs in 32 states and care for more than 8 million patients a year. The local company was founded in 1994 by Dr. Kip Schumacher, an emergency medicine physician.
“ECI’s existing footprint complements ours with market presence including the West Coast, the Midwest and parts of the Northeast,” Rich D’Amaro, chief executive officer of Schumacher, said in a press release. “Additionally, their unique model of clinical leadership in the field helps deepen our physician-led culture.”
Schumacher officials declined at this time to comment on whether the ECI locations will operate as Schumacher locations once the merger is complete.