Summit Medical Group, the largest physician-owned multispecialty group in New Jersey, and CityMD, a New York City-based urgent care provider, have rebranded as Summit Health.
Berkeley Heights, N.J.-based Summit Medical Group and CityMD merged in 2019. Together, the two companies record more than 6 million visits a year.
The rebranding aims to better represent the new organization and unite both operations under one name, Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, CEO of Summit Health, said March 18.
"I really think the rebrand is a refresh," he told Becker's. "There will be more cohesiveness as we bring the two companies together to really be one company that believes in access and healthcare delivery."
Over the next year, the Summit Health branding will appear on more than 200 physical locations. CityMD will operate under its existing name with an endorsement line labeling it as "a Summit Health company."
"For me, the name 'Summit Health' is all-encompassing. It covers anything that has to do with the physicality, psychosocial and socioeconomic aspects of your health," Dr. Le Benger said of the organization's new name. "We want to be all-encompassing and take care of that patient from birth to survivorship. That's what Summit Health is all about."
Summit Medical Group has seen immense growth over its more than 100-year history. When Dr. Le Benger joined the organization in 1989, there were 45 providers. Now, there are more than 1,200 providers in New Jersey alone. The organization's integrated care delivery model has proven highly effective — it has a 2 percent physician turnover rate, a net promoter score of 85 to 88, is consistently in the upper quartile of quality and outcomes, and dramatically beats the total cost of care for its matching accountable care organizations, according to Dr. Le Benger.
Summit Health plans to add three primary care hubs in Northern New Jersey within the next two years and is also expanding its model into the New York metropolitan area. The organization has already proved it can grow outside of its original market, Dr. Le Benger said, pointing to its 140-provider site in Bend, Ore., that took root three years ago.
Summit Health's expansion efforts are bolstered by a new analytics platform the organization has invested tens of millions of dollars on to better manage patients across the care continuum and eliminate care gaps. The organization also plans to tap predictive analytics to identify patients with comorbidities at risk of hospital admission.
"What we attained in New Jersey is what we are going to attain with our robust data analytics platform in the New York metropolitan area," Dr. Le Benger said.
Summit Health is also planning to introduce a mobile app within the next few months, which patients can use to schedule appointments, pay bills, request virtual visits and more.
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