 Mercy Health Partners joins the Initial Group PPO Network more 
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 Knoxville, Tennessee - November 12, 2000 - The Initial Group, East Tennessee's fastest growing managed healthcare organization, is now wholly owned by Baptist Health System of East Tennessee. The Initial Grup was under joint ownership between Baptist and St. Mary's Health System, until Baptist purchased St. Mary's interest in the network. A Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), The Initial Group and its network consists of 60 hospitals and 4,500 physicians in East Tennessee, including Chattanooga, Knoxville, and the Tri-Cities. Because The Initial Group is a locally owned organization, any of the employee benefit services offered are tailored to meet the specific needs of each client. It is unique in its ability to work closely with insurance carriers, agents, brokers, third party administrators, and national payors and other managed care networks. Recently awarded accreditation for health Networks and Utilization Management by the URAC/American Accreditation HealthCare commission, The Initial Group is recognized for its high quality managed care processes, protocols and customer service. The Initial Group has been serving the East Tennessee healthcare market for almost 10 years, and currently provides healthcare services to more than 100,000 employees and their dependants. The Initial Group also provides a worker's compensation network and employee benefit plan consulting. Among the 60 hospitals in the network are Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee and its affiliates, Baptist Hospital of Cocke County, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Blount Memorial Hospital, Morristown Hamblen Healthcare System, East Tennessee Children's Hospital and Claiborne County Hospital. "We are excited to continue the excellent products and services The Initial Group has been able to provide to our region," said Dale Collins, President and CEO of Baptist Health System. "The network continues to expand and we look forward to meeting the growing healthcare needs of East Tennessee." Located in downtown Knoxville, Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee is an acute care hospital serving as the central resource of the Baptist Health System. Baptist has been honored as one of the nation's top 100 hospitals 4 years in a row, twice as one of he top in the nation for cardiovascular surgery and angioplasty, and a Consumer's Choice Award winner. Baptist is also the only health system in the state to ever receive the Tennessee Quality Governor's Award. The Initial Group leadership of Lisa Wear, President; Cheryl Wilburn, VP of Network Development; and Mark Field, VP of Business Development, remain in place and nine additional employees are now part of the Baptist Health System. "I am proud of our staff's accomplishments over the last 10 years and we are excited about our growth potential. Being fully owned by a high quality health system like Baptist will give us even more focus and energy" said Wear. - END -
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East Tennessee's fastest growing managed healthcare network |
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| For over 13 years, The Initial Group has been providing healthcare products and services to employees throughout East Tennessee |
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