Outpatient Imaging Affiliates inks 2 new hospital joint ventures
Outpatient Imaging Affiliates is expanding into two new markets through hospital joint venture partnerships.
The Franklin, Tennessee-based radiology provider is partnering with 24-hospital BJC HealthCare in Missouri, which it labels as one of the nation’s largest such nonprofits, along with Piedmont in Georgia. On the former, the JV partners have formed an entity called BJC Outpatient Imaging Affiliates LLC and will work to expand access to diagnostic radiology services across greater St. Louis and southern Illinois.
They’ve already earned approval for a certificate of need to develop the joint venture’s first center in West County, St. Louis. OIA said it additionally is filing a second application in St. Charles County while evaluating two more sites beyond that.
“The St. Louis market is highly competitive, and patients have learned to look for convenient, retail-style access to imaging services,” Chris Watts, MHA, chief strategy officer of BJC HealthCare, which is based in the Gateway City, said in a recent announcement. “Through this joint venture with OIA, we are positioning BJC to expand strategically, enhance our outpatient imaging network, and compete effectively while staying true to our mission of exceptional patient care.”
Backed by London-based private equity firm the Cranemere Group, Outpatient Imaging Affiliates now operates about 60 centers across the country in partnership with 17 hospital systems. It also previously announced a partnership with the University of Southern California in October and the Medical University of South Carolina in March.
Cranemere Group acquired Outpatient Imaging Affiliates from ICV Partners in 2021 via a deal valued at $400 million. The PE firm bills itself as an alternative to traditional private equity, avoiding the “pitfalls of short-termism” and burdens of “excessive leverage.” It’s structured as a holding company and typically buys radiology providers with the intent to keep them permanently. Cranemere also owns Irving, Texas-based Northstar Anesthesia after acquiring a majority stake in 2018.
OIA said in its latest announcement that it typically takes a minority position in its imaging centers, “ensuring that its hospital partner will maintain operational and strategic control over the venture.” BJC Healthcare selected the Tennessee imaging group through a competitive process, aiming to advance its ambulatory growth strategy and expand access to convenient outpatient imaging services across the St. Louis area. Similar to its previous JV deals, new centers will carry the hospital system brand, with professional services handled by the partner system’s affiliated radiology group at the Washington University School of Medicine.
“By all accounts, these centers are our hospital partner’s centers,” Creighton Cook, MBA, VP of business development for Outpatient Imaging Affiliates, said in the announcement. “But OIA has an entrepreneurial mindset that pairs our experience with our partners brand and reputation to enhance their outpatient radiology service line and better serve patients across their market.”
Georgia joint venture
Meanwhile, Outpatient Imaging Affiliates also recently inked another joint venture deal with Piedmont, a 27-hospital nonprofit based in Atlanta.
They’ll open their first location in Columbus, Georgia’s second most populus city, with others to follow in additional communities by the end of 2026. OIA and its hospital partner acquired the Columbus Diagnostic Center and is rebranding it as Piedmont Community Imaging, providing services from its clinically integrated network of radiologists and other docs.
Piedmont Community Imaging has two locations currently on 10th Avenue in Midtown Columbus and a second in North Columbus. The health system noted the established partnership that previous owners had built “for many years” in Columbus, with the groundwork already established to further grow the partnership. OIA did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday for details about the centers’ seller.
“Piedmont is focused on expanding access to healthcare services. In this case, we are giving Georgians more options for affordable imaging services that will also be fully integrated in Piedmont’s electronic health record,” Michelle Fisher, MHA, the hospital system’s president of primary care and retail services said in a separate Nov. 13 announcement. “This will improve patient experience and quality of care.”
CEO Amy Stout, MBA, also recently spoke with Modern Healthcare about the new Piedmont partnership and OIA’s potential for expansion. Over the next five years, Stout said she hopes to open 10 to 15 additional centers across existing partnerships
“Given both the momentum I think we’re feeling in the market around this model and the interest that we’re getting from potentially new partners, we will bring on additional partners, but we want to do it in a way that makes sense,” she told Modern in a piece published Nov. 19.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.