Five family medicine doctors who have long worked for Hillcrest Health System have decided to join Waco’s other hospital system.

The move will temporarily gut Hillcrest’s Bosque Clinic.

It has seven doctors, five of whom are moving to Providence Healthcare Network.

Those physicians are Drs. Scott Blattman, Todd Blattman, Keith Horner, Gerard Marroquin and John Shelton.

The doctors did not return a call the Tribune-Herald made to their office Friday afternoon seeking comment about their decision.

Providence’s vice president for physician operations, Alan Tindell, said the doctors accepted offers from Providence on Friday.

Hiring them is part of Providence’s recently announced plan to double the number of primary care physicians it employs or has close ties to within three years, he said.

“We’re very excited they have joined us,” Tindell said. “We think they are a great addition.”

Exactly when the doctors will make the switch has not been decided. They are in the process of working out certain contractual obligations with Hillcrest, officials said.

But for the next couple of weeks at least, patients who have appointments scheduled with those doctors will be able to see them at the Bosque clinic, Hillcrest CEO Glenn Robinson said.

After that, Hillcrest will make sure patients who want to remain with Hillcrest can get an appointment at the clinic, Robinson said.

Some of those visits will be handled by the two physicians who are staying there.

Plus, Hillcrest is looking at hiring more doctors, as well as possibly moving some doctors from its other clinic locations there, he said.

There are no plans for Scott & White physicians to move to the clinic, Robinson said.

Hillcrest and Scott & White, which is based in Temple, entered into a partnership last year. Scott & White has about 25 primary care physicians in McLennan County.

“Patients should not see any disruption in their care,” Robinson said. “Their appointment times will be just as fast and friendly.”

If patients decide they want to follow their physician to Providence, Hillcrest will ensure the smooth transition of their records, Robinson said. All a patient has to do to have records sent elsewhere is fill out a form, he said.

“We want to do what is right for the patient,” Robinson said.

Hillcrest is disappointed to see the doctors leave, Robinson said. Calling them “very good physicians,” he said they have worked for Hillcrest for a number of years.

Asked why the doctors left, Robinson said that was a question they would have to answer.

But he said he was not worried about Providence recruiting away other Hillcrest physicians.

Hillcrest operates 10 clinics, which will be left with 33 physicians, Robinson said. He noted that Hillcrest has had a strong primary care network for 25 years and said many of the doctors who are remaining have a long tenure with the hospital system.

“I’m very grateful for their commitment,” Robinson said.

Once the doctors complete the switch to Providence, they will work out of a building located at 342 Richland West Circle, across from Providence Health Center.

The building used to house a group of neurosurgeons and is being renovated for use as a family medicine clinic, Tindell said.

Providence will continue to work toward expanding its primary care network, Tindell said.

Primary care is a category that includes family medicine physicians, internal medicine doctors and pediatricians.

The addition of the five Hillcrest physicians will bring the number of primary care doctors Providence employs to 18. Sixteen additional primary care physicians are affiliated with Providence, meaning they work there primarily or exclusively.

Providence eventually wants to have 60 primary care doctors who are either employed by the system or affiliated with it.

The timeline for that build-up is three years, officials said when the plan was announced in late July.

Providence decided to beef up its primary care network after employing a consulting firm to help it evaluate the changing business landscape, officials have said.

Not only is national health care reform expected to increase the demand for primary care physicians, but Providence wants to remain competitive in the wake of Hillcrest joining forces with Scott & White, they have said.

cculp@wacotrib.com

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