Bridges Fund Management (“Bridges”), the specialist sustainable and impact investor, has acquired a majority stake in Medwood Holdings, LLC (“Medwood”), via the Bridges U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund, LP. The existing management team is also re-investing in the business as part of the recapitalization.

Medwood, through its operating subsidiaries, provides administrative and management support services to a network of primary care and family medicine physician practices located in New York City, which collectively support more than 40,000 visits annually. The primary care and family medicine practices that Medwood services are providing low-cost, high-quality care within medically underserved communities.

Practice management for primary care physicians, particularly those in underserved neighborhoods, has been a key focus for the Bridges investment team within its broader ‘health and wellness’ impact theme – as these services allow physicians to concentrate on delivering better health outcomes and scaling their operations to support more patients.

Bridges has appointed Kerry McDonald as the new Chief Executive Officer. Kerry is a seasoned healthcare executive with experience operating management service organizations as well as various managed care plans throughout the United States.

Kerry McDonald, incoming Chief Executive Officer said: “This is an exciting time to be in healthcare. As real incentives become available to providers, it puts the care of patients squarely in the hands of physicians. I look forward to continuing to grow Medwood and supporting the underlying practices. Bridges is an experienced and aligned partner who should be a great asset during the next stage of the Company’s growth. Bridges’ industry expertise, track record of working alongside management teams in high-growth environments and clear orientation to further expansion in medically underserved communities were differentiators to myself and the Medwood team.”

Ed Niemczyk, Investment Director at Bridges, commented: “As value-based reimbursement continues to become increasingly prevalent at provider organizations, the need for centralized and efficient administrative management also continues to grow. Medwood enables primary care providers to focus on the clinical outcomes of the patient population while simultaneously helping them to achieve greater scale in the communities that they are serving. Bridges brings a strong history of healthcare investment and practice management experience to the Medwood investment and we look forward to working alongside Kerry McDonald and the entire team.”

This investment in Medwood builds on Bridges’ extensive experience of investing in the healthcare sector. Notable recent investments include the Hub pharmacy, a chain of community pharmacies that specialize in providing healthcare services in underserved areas; Alina Homecare, which provides high-quality home care to elderly and disabled patients; and Shaw Healthcare, the UK’s largest employee-owned care home operator.

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