DCH Health System Selects UA Health Services Foundation and IN Compass Health to Provide Hospitalist Management Services

Hospitalist Management Group Will Unify Hospitalist Care at DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center

DCH Health System announced today that it has selected Capstone Health Services Foundation, which is affiliated with University Medical Center and the current employer of University Hospitalist Group physicians, and IN Compass Health, a physician staffing and management company, to provide hospitalists to both DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center. The contract will be effective Oct. 1, 2021, at Northport Medical Center and Nov. 1, 2021, at DCH Regional Medical Center.

“The combination of Capstone and IN Compass will be a strong partner with DCH in providing quality medical care and ensuring patient satisfaction at the hospitals,” said Bryan Kindred, president and CEO of the DCH Health System.

University Hospitalist Group operates under Capstone, an affiliate foundation of The University of Alabama and part of UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, which operates University Medical Center. University Hospitalist Group currently provides hospital medicine services at DCH Regional Medical Center. Capstone’s innovative proposal included a partnership with the highly regarded IN Compass Health. IN Compass, based in Alpharetta, Ga, will provide operational oversight and expertise and will be responsible for day-to-day operations and quality and care metrics of the hospitalist program. IN Compass also will work with Capstone in the recruitment, selection and hiring of physicians. Capstone will employ the physicians who will work within the DCH hospitalist program.

The selection of Capstone and IN Compass was made after a rigorous, objective evaluation process conducted by DCH with expertise from PYA, a nationally recognized consulting group that specializes in coordinating the RFP (Request for Proposal) process and evaluating the responses.

“Partnering with IN Compass will allow Capstone Health Services Foundation to collectively offer DCH local and national knowledge along with the best practices of a leading medical center and a leading hospitalist management company,” said Richard Friend, MD, dean of UA’s College of Community Health Sciences. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with DCH and work together to elevate care for the citizens of West Alabama.”

“Partnering with these two health care leaders to staff and manage both DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center helps ensure quality, continuity and consistency of care, since the same providers, using the same care models, will be delivering care at both locations,” Kindred said. “This is the right thing for our patients and the community.”

Capstone and IN Compass understand the importance of hiring the highest quality health care providers who are from or will live in the local communities where they work. Fortunately, Capstone already employs many exceptional local physicians who will be invited to continue to serve as hospitalists at DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center through this partnership.

“We are extremely pleased to have been selected as DCH Health System’s hospitalist management company and look forward to working with Capstone,” said Dan Fuller, CEO and president of IN Compass Health. “With Capstone’s existing base of local physicians and expertise, and with our 20 years of experience in offering excellent hospitalist services across the country, we are ready to join with DCH to meet the health care needs of West Alabama.”

A hospitalist is a doctor who provides care from the time of hospital admission until discharge, for patients who either do not have a regular physician or whose regular physician does not practice at the hospital. Hospitalists are medical specialists who usually complete their residency in internal medicine or family medicine and then focus on providing care to hospital patients.

About DCH Health System

For nearly a century, the DCH Health System has had local ownership and leadership, and has continually evolved to offer advanced caring to West Alabama. Today, the DCH Health System includes DCH Regional Medical Center, Northport Medical Center and Fayette Medical Center.

DCH Regional Medical Center is the cornerstone of the DCH system. The 583-bed hospital offers a variety of specialty units and advanced services, including cancer, cardiology, robotic and minimally invasive surgery, and the region's advanced trauma center.

Northport Medical Center is a 204-bed community hospital that offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient services. The facility also operates important specialty services, including the DCH Rehabilitation Pavilion and North Harbor Pavilion for mental health.

Fayette Medical Center, through a lease agreement with the DCH Health System, is a 61-bed rural hospital that offers the residents of Fayette County inpatient care, along with sophisticated diagnostic equipment, surgical techniques and specialty clinics. A 122-bed nursing home on site is fully accredited and licensed for intermediate and skilled nursing care. Visit us at https://www.dchsystem.com/.

About Capstone Health Services Foundation

The Capstone Health Services Foundation was organized in 1981 as a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing an organization and framework to develop and furnish patient care through University Medical Center and to support medical and resident education programs of The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences.

The College’s mission is to improve and promote the health of individuals and communities in rural Alabama and the Southeast region through leadership in medical and health-related education, primary care and population health, the provision of high quality, accessible health care services, and research and scholarship.

University Medical Center is the largest multi-specialty medical practice in West Alabama with four locations offering health-care services in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, neurology, sports medicine, hospitalist medicine and surgery. Capstone also operates clinical components of, or relating to, the UA Student Health Center, the UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency and its 48 residents, approximately 65 medical students, fellowships in obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, hospital medicine and sports medicine, as well as community-based clinical work under contract or in affiliation with a variety of partners and collaborators.

About IN Compass Health, Inc.

IN Compass Health is one of the nation’s premier hospitalist management companies and a pioneer in establishing this fast-growing medical specialty. Founded in 2001, the company employs hundreds of physicians working in hospitals around the country and has become a recognized leader in the provision of inpatient medicine management services to hospitals and healthcare systems nationwide.

Through clinical leadership and outstanding patient care, IN Compass Health’s hospitalist programs and management services improve hospital performance with better patient outcomes, increase nursing and physician satisfaction, create higher patient throughput, and lower cost per case. More information is available at https://www.incompasshealth.com