Hartford HealthCare is closing the orthopedic practice of four surgeons, including Frank Maletz, MD, according to a report from The Day.
Here are 10 things to know:
1. Although Dr. Maletz is 64 years old, he reported that he won't be retiring with the practice closure. His practice, along with three others, received letters from Hartford notifying them of the closure.
2. The orthopedic practices will be closed as of Oct. 31, 2016.
3. According to the report, Hartford HealthCare didn't provide a reason for the closures. However, it did advise patients to transfer medical records to one of six other practice locations.
4. Crossroads Orthopedics, Dr. Maletz's practice, joined the William W. Backus Hospital network in 2014 and then became Backus Physician Services Orthopedic Surgery. The hospital then became part of Hartford HealthCare.
5. Dr. Maletz joined the Backus network initially because his previous hospital affiliation, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London appeared "unstable." However, he and the other surgeons continued to perform all their surgeries at L+M Hospital even after affiliating with Hartford.
6. Dr. Maletz was paid a salary and bonus by Hartford after turning over ownership of the practice to the network. The practice is closing one month after L+M Hospital received regulatory approval to affiliate with Yale-New Haven Health network.
7. The four physicians who are having their practices closed saw around 125 patients per week and performed about 500 surgeries per year, according to the report.
8. A spokesperson for Hartford said the orthopedic practice closures occurred because the network didn't want to compete with their own resources. "We determined that adequate coverage for orthopedic services in the New London and Waterford markets with a relationship to Backus Hospital already exists," the spokesperson said in the report.
9. The practice closures also come on the heels of Hartford's plan to purchase Constitution Surgery Center East, two miles from Dr. Maletz's office, which includes orthopedic surgery. However, the Hartford spokesperson reported the network's decision on the closures wasn't associated with this planned purchase.
10. Dr. Maletz hopes to re-open his practice in the future.