ATLANTA—EyeSouth Partners, an eyecare-focused physicians services organization backed by Shore Capital Partners, has expanded into northeast Georgia and North Carolina by completing a strategic partnership with Gainesville Eye Associates, according to an announcement late last week. Shore Capital Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm in the health care sector, formed EyeSouth early last year. Gainesville Eye Associates provides a full suite of eyecare services, including cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment, retina services, oculoplastics and medical optometry, according to the announcement. Gainesville Eye Associates is led by ophthalmologists Jack Chapman, MD, OD, and Clayton Blehm, MD, as part of a team of five doctors who provide care at two primary clinical locations in Gainesville, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., and six satellite locations in Georgia and North Carolina.

The terms of the partnership transaction were not disclosed. EyeSouth is based here. For nearly 40 years, Gainesville Eye Associates has offered eyecare treatment services to patients throughout northeast Georgia and southwest North Carolina. Gainesville Eye Associates will continue to operate under its brand with no changes to underlying staff, physicians or locations, the announcement noted.

“We are very excited to partner with EyeSouth to help take our business to the next level,” Chapman, a past president of the Medical Association of Georgia, said in the statement. He will join EyeSouth’s Physician Advisory Board. “We firmly believe EyeSouth’s model will allow us to grow and enhance our medical and surgical specialty eyecare services in Northeast Georgia and Southwest North Carolina. EyeSouth’s network of affiliated eyecare practices aligns with our absolute focus on providing the highest standard of clinical quality.”

Blehm said the new partnership is “a great cultural fit for our practice and will allow us to unlock opportunities to continue to improve our patients’ experience and access to eyecare through investments in cutting edge technologies, additional capacity and best-in-class administrative support.”

Eugene Gabianelli, MD, chief medical officer of EyeSouth, said the firm was pleased to have Gainesville Eye Associates join the EyeSouth network. “Gainesville Eye Associates has a longstanding reputation for high quality patient care, and we look forward to partnering with the physicians and support team to provide additional resources and expertise to continue the practice’s history of growth,” he said.

Following the new partnership arrangement, EyeSouth’s affiliate network consists of 35 doctors providing medical and surgical eyecare services at 23 locations throughout Georgia. EyeSouth, as VMAIL reported, named Rex Adams as chief executive officer earlier this year.