CoxHealth and Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute join forces

CoxHealth and Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute, LLC (SNSI) have agreed to an exclusive partnership promising to expand access and services for patients throughout the region. This agreement will become effective Jan. 1, 2011.

SNSI is the largest private practice neurosurgery group in Missouri and has gained regional and national prominence for excellence in clinical care and outcomes research. The 12 subspecialty physicians at SNSI specialize in the treatment of brain, spinal and peripheral nerve disorders.

CoxHealth will purchase the clinic and assets of SNSI including their imaging center. The physicians will provide services to the clinic and the hospital. The 80 individuals employed by SNSI will become employees of CoxHealth.

“With this partnership, we expect to align physician and hospital incentives to improve access, expand services, reduce costs and create a seamless experience for patients. We will look back on this day and remember it as the day we began something very special for neurosciences in our region,” says Robert H. Bezanson, president and CEO of CoxHealth.

Dr. Mark Crabtree, neurosurgeon and managing partner of SNSI adds: “CoxHealth and SNSI have been working on tighter clinical and financial integration since October 2003, and we believe that this partnership will better prepare us to meet the future needs of the patients and communities that we serve.”

SNSI joins CoxHealth’s integrated health care delivery system through its professional services agreement (PSA) along with partner Ferrell-Duncan Clinic, Inc, and the CoxHealth employed physicians of Regional Services. CoxHealth and its physician partners plan to create a comprehensive neuroscience institute that will become an integral part of the Cox South campus with a goal of rivaling the best centers in the nation.

As a top 100 health care system, CoxHealth is committed to delivering on the proven benefits of integrated health care delivery. The joining forces of SNSI and CoxHealth further this effort to improve care for patients.