On Jan. 7, New York City-based NYU Langone Health and NYU Langone Orthopedics announced final plans to acquire Rothman Orthopaedics of Greater New York.
Philadelphia-based Rothman has long been recognized as one of the top orthopedic providers in the nation, with additional facilities in Florida and New Jersey.
Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, president of Rothman Orthopaedics, told Becker's why Rothman, which has long stayed independent, decided to offload its New York City and Westchester, N.Y.-based facilities.
Question: Why did Rothman decide to join NYU Langone instead of choosing another partnership option, such as private equity?
Dr. Alex Vaccaro: When we were looking for a partner in the New York metropolitan area, we wanted to work with the partner who was invested in the success of improving orthopedic care in the Westchester region through excellence in clinical care, patient centric research, education and innovation. NYU Langone offered all those possibilities. We viewed private equity as a funding source, which wasn't necessary due to the ample financial support provided by NYU Langone. NYU Langone, through excellence in business management, provided the appropriate amount of capitalization to develop a thriving Rothman Orthopaedic practice in Manhattan and Westchester. NYU Langone allowed Rothman to continue with its patient centric research, developing clinical pathways and most importantly providing excellence in patient care. When it was the right moment strategically for more rapid expansion in the Westchester region, NYU Langone was the preferred candidate to acquire the practice, allowing its footprint to expand dramatically within a short period of time through Rothman's large patient population, multiple offices and first-class surgeon personnel.
Q: Why did Rothman decide to part with its New York locations instead of remaining independent?
AV: Rothman witnessed the great potential in expanding first-class orthopedic care rapidly throughout the Westchester region. The resources for this were clearly demonstrated in our relationship with NYU Langone over the last several years. After experiencing the success of Rothman's growth in the Westchester region, we felt that NYU Langone, due to its values and mission, was the right partner to take over our practice and use its expertise in patient care to enter this market with a significant headstart in terms of brick and mortar and experienced surgeons well known to the community. Rothman will continue to navigate its relationships with other healthcare systems throughout the country. In some settings, it may be strategically appropriate to remain independent and in other cases to allow the local healthcare system to have a greater ownership position, as long as it benefits the local patient population in terms of care, accessibility and cost.
Q: Does Rothman have future plans for additional partnerships or acquisitions?
AV: Rothman is continuously looking for partners that share its values and mission. That is, to provide cost effective, evidence-based orthopedic care with a commitment to research and education. There are many healthcare systems nationally that share these similar values. We greatly appreciate our relationship with Thomas Jefferson University, where we are based, as well as with our regional partners AtlantiCare and Capital Health and our Orlando, Fla., partner AdventHealth. We've had a tremendous relationship with these partners. We are strongly committed to growing regionally and nationally over the coming years.