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News Release

Media ContactS:
ENloe Medical Center
Christina Chavira
Communications Specialist
530.332.5589 - office
christina.chavira@enloe.org  


Biggs Gridley Memorial Hospital
David L. Yarbrough RN, BS, MS, JD
Chief Executive Officer
530.846.9021 office
dyarbrough@bgmh.us

            

Enloe Medical Center, Biggs Gridley Memorial Hospital
strengthen relationship to serve Butte County health care needs

CHICO, Calif., April 6, 2010 – As part of the hospitals’ ongoing relationship, Biggs-Gridley Memorial Hospital and Enloe Medical Center announce their recent collaboration with the Gridley Medical Group. Enloe purchased the primary care group earlier this month and is assisting with the recruitment of primary care doctors to the Biggs-Gridley area. Additionally, the hospitals have recently co-signed for a $1 million line of credit through Northern California Bank. This loan will help provide funding necessary for enhancing health care delivery in the south county.

“We value the hospital and our relationship with the communities of Biggs and Gridley,” said Enloe Medical Center CEO Mike Wiltermood. “As a locally owned and operated community hospital ourselves, we understand the importance of having an independent hospital, and the importance that both our hospitals play in the broader health care system,” Wiltermood said. “We are confident that the Biggs-Gridley hospital will thrive, and we appreciate the opportunity to work together for the benefit of Butte County communities.”

For many years, Biggs Gridley Memorial Hospital (BGMH) and Enloe have worked together to provide critical emergency and trauma services to the greater Butte County area. Additionally, Butte County has contracted with Enloe to provide ambulance service in the Biggs-Gridley area since 1987. Enloe has also provided BGMH with surplus equipment, training and quality of care reviews.

Purchasing the physician practice means that Enloe now operates its primary care clinic and contracts with the doctors for medical services. The group’s three doctors and one nurse practitioner welcomed the relationship because it frees them to focus on caring for patients rather than running the business.

“It provides a lot of positives for me and the physician group,” said Albert W. Nielsen, MD, of Gridley Medical Group. “It brings stability in a bit of a tumultuous environment.” Dr. Nielsen said he appreciates that the arrangement offerssupport with recruiting doctors, hiring and managing office staff, and contracting with insurance companies. “I no longer have to run a business and practice medicine. My fellow doctors, our staff and I can work to maintain the long traditions of Gridley Medical Group. We look forward to building on the support we have long enjoyed with the physicians in Chico.”

BGMH CEO David L. Yarbrough, RN, BS, MS, JD, said, “I approached Enloe because I knew that a strong relationship between Enloe and Biggs-Gridley Memorial Hospital was very important. This new relationship with the physician group and its clinic is beneficial to our communities because it helps keep primary care in town.” BGMH is a 45-bed Critical Access Hospital that has been in Gridley for 60 years. It continues to receive the same tremendous community support that has enabled it to keep its doors open during difficult times.

“The hospitals are working together creatively to increase our success in bringing needed doctors to our communities,” said Aaron Wood, Enloe’s Vice President of Operations. “It’s important that we have an adequate number of doctors to care for patients in Butte County.” Recruiting physicians is a nationwide challenge that particularly impacts independent and rural hospitals; and primary care doctors are in bigger demand than specialists. California is projected to have a shortfall of 17,000 doctors by 2015. Enloe has also recently increased its recruiting efforts in Chico as part of the hospital’s strategic objective of physician-hospital alignment. Enloe’s goal is to recruit 50 new doctors over the next seven years.

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Enloe Medical Center is a local, nonprofit health care organization. For more information, please call 530/332-7300 or visit us online at http://www.enloe.org.   Enloe Medical Center is located at 1531 Esplanade Chico, Calif.  95926.