SOUTHLAKE, TX – Retina Consultants of America, a physician management services organization recently formed by Webster Equity Partners, has launched with four retina specialty practices. Practices include Retina Consultants of Houston, Retina Group of Florida, Long Island Vitreoretinal Consultants and Retinal Consultants Serving Northern California.
Headquartered in Southlake, TX, RCA “will identify and partner with leading retina specialists who seek a strategic partner with the capital resources and expertise to invest in their practice infrastructure and position them for continued growth in their markets,” according to a press release.
“This is an exciting time for Retina Consultants of America, and we are proud to be partnering with these premier practices,” said Dr. David M. Brown of Retina Consultants of Houston. “We are committed to delivering the highest quality care and that aligns directly with RCA. This network should allow us to increase our participation and impact in clinical trials and expand our presence within the markets we serve, positively impacting the lives of more patients.”
RCA includes retina research specialists with the goal of eradicating blindness from macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other retina diseases.
Robert Grabow is serving as CEO of RCA. Grabow has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare, including executive roles in development and operations with Humana and most recently as senior vice president at US Anesthesia Partners, leading the Florida market. He is joined on the management team by Jim Greenwood, executive chairman, who was recognized in 2019 receiving the Person of Vision Award from Prevent Blindness and was the previous CEO of Vision Source and Concentra.
“What makes RCA unique is that it is retina-specific. We designed this network with the common goal of bringing together key opinion leaders in the field to provide the best patient care to individuals with retinal disease,” said Grabow. “With more than 7 million Americans suffering from diabetic retinopathy and another 11 million elderly Americans with some degree of age-related macular degeneration, there is a growing need to have the highest quality specialists come together to save sight.”
The release explains that RCA “has created a business model that enables retina specialists to retain autonomy and ownership, augmented by sharing best practices and executive management support.”
“We recognized an opportunity to create a network that can help support and grow independent retina specialists. Retina Consultants of America represents a new and unique strategic partnership for independent groups,” said John Garbarino, partner, Webster Equity Partners. “RCA and its network of leading retina practices join Webster Equity Partners’ healthcare services portfolio as another company designed to deliver solutions for independent healthcare providers in a system that continues to become more complex.”
RCA is governed by a Medical Leadership Board that is co-chaired by Joel Pearlman, MD, PhD, and Brown. Pearlman and Brown are both leaders in clinical trials that led to the development of anti-VEGF injections for the treatment of macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion.
“I have dedicated my life to treating retinal disease and macular degeneration. Great eyesight is the foundation to a successful and thriving life,” said Pearlman, of Retinal Consultants Serving Northern California. “This partnership creates significant opportunities and economies of scale to improve upon and makes more accessible the already excellent care and innovation provided by our practices. We are stronger together.”