Riverside Loses Three Doctors to Sentara

Saturday, February 05, 2011

When Riverside recently decided to void some doctors’ contracts in order to renegotiate new ones, three local doctors took the opportunity to leave for Sentara together.

“These changes are not uncommon,” according to Lesnick. “Just as patients have a choice [among doctors], physicians do, too… among our groups, there is transition.”

Riverside doctors had contracts with a non-compete clause, which prohibited them from practicing nearby if they left Riverside without cause, according to Biernacki. When Riverside terminated sone doctors’ current contracts in order to draft new ones, doctors had 90 days in which to decide whether to sign the new ones.

Biernacki and two of his fellow doctors, who have all been practicing together for years and wanted to stay together, took the unique opportunity to look at their options. They considered going independent or going with another group and landed at Sentara’s New Town location, though they’re actually getting paid less, he says.

“It’s not about the money,” says Biernacki, who worked for Riverside for 15 years and was offered better pay with his proposed new Riverside contract. He believes Sentara has “a better system – they have a good management structure and facilities” and “their staff model and office space is better.” There are more exam rooms per doctor and more support people to help doctors out, he says.

“From this standpoint, [Sentara] was a better place to go to, and we thought we could really do some good here.”

The doctors have received a warm welcome from Sentara. “We welcome these physicians and nurse practitioners to the complement of quality SMG providers serving residents of the Upper Peninsula,” said Dr. Shane Peng, Vice President and Senior Medical Director of Sentara Medical Group, in a Sentara press release about the move.

“They share our vision of primary care delivery and are dedicated to creating an extraordinary healthcare experience for their patients’ present and future healthcare needs.”

Commenting on the doctors’ decision to leave Riverside, Lesnick says that “Riverside has a different business model and ways of practicing,” and which group a doctor chooses “has to do with the physician’s style and what they’re looking for.”

Dr. Ron Grossman, who previously worked with Sentara, chose to move to Riverside this spring, Lesnick says. He’ll be working at Norge Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, according to the Riverside website.

As an example of Riverside’s business model, Lesnick points out that Riverside is ‘payer neutral’ and doesn’t value one payer over another. “Our business philosophy is to ensure access to all citizens of Williamsburg, including Medicare patients. We don’t disincentivize doctors from seeing Medicare patients; we feel like we’re lucky to have these patients.”

Losing some Williamsburg doctors doesn’t mean Riverside is any less committed to the area. “Our interest is in Williamsburg particularly because of the growing aging population here,” he says. Riverside’s recent acquisition of three previously independent Med Express locations, one of which is in Williamsburg and another that's in York County, is intended to expand the group’s urgent care service to better serve patients nearby.

“We doubled our after-hours care, and this [addition] was a great fit for us,” Lesnick says.

Riverside will also be expanding into the area with its planned 40-bed Doctor’s Hospital bounded by Route 199, Quarterpath Road and Route 60. Construction on the medical campus will begin once road construction is complete this spring.