Capstone Hospitalist Group, which is affiliated with University Medical Center, now provides hospital medicine services for patients at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa and Northport Medical Center.
Capstone Hospitalist Group physicians began providing inpatient services at Northport Medical Center Oct. 1, 2021, and DCH Regional Medical Center Nov. 1, 2021. The hospitals are part of the Tuscaloosa-based DCH Health System.
“We are pleased to expand our relationship with DCH and work together to elevate care for the citizens of West Alabama,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC. Capstone Hospitalist Group operates under Capstone Health Services Foundation, an affiliate foundation of the University and part of CCHS.
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 hospitalized patients.
The growth of the specialty has been fueled by several trends, the main one being that the demands on office-based physicians’ time have significantly increased and many have less time to travel to facilities where their patients are hospitalized. Research also suggests greater satisfaction among hospitalized patients who are cared for by hospitalists because these physicians are at the hospital and can quickly answer patient questions, meet with family and follow up on tests.
Capstone Hospitalist Group previously operated as University Hospitalist Group, whose physicians began providing hospital medicine services at DCH Regional Medical Center in 2003.
In providing services to DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center, Capstone Hospitalist Group has partnered with the Atlanta-based IN Compass Health, which provides operational oversight and expertise and is responsible for day-to-day operations and quality care metrics of the hospitalist program. IN Compass also works with Capstone Hospitalist Group in the recruitment, selection and hiring of physicians, who are employed by the hospitalist group.
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 CCHS medical student and resident education programs. UMC is the largest multi-specialty medical practice in West Alabama with five locations offering health-care services in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, neurology, sports medicine, hospitalist medicine and surgery.
IN Compass is a hospitalist provider in the fast-growing specialty of hospital medicine. Founded in 2001, IN Compass employs hundreds of physicians working in U.S. hospitals and provides management support services for hospitalist programs.
The DCH Health System includes DCH Regional Medical Center, Northport Medical Center and Fayette Medical Center. The 583-bed DCH Regional Medical Center is the cornerstone of the DCH system and 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. Fayette Medical Center is a 61-bed rural hospital that offers inpatient care along with diagnostic equipment, surgical techniques and specialty clinics.