OrthoIndy to merge with Evansville, Fort Wayne practices

Three independent orthopedic practices in Indiana are joining forces.

OrthoIndy in Indianapolis, Tri-State Orthopaedics in Evansville, and Fort Wayne Orthopedics announced plans Thursday to merge and create OrthoIndiana with the goal of bringing comprehensive orthopedic care across the state.

When the merger is completed in mid-2025, OrthoIndiana will operate 39 locations throughout Indiana with 160 physicians and more than 1,800 employees, the practices said.

OrthoIndy President Dr. Ed Hellman told Inside INdiana Business the decision to bring the practices together was the result of increasing challenges for independent health care practices.

“Every year, we see reductions in reimbursements for what we do, for professional services. Every year, we see increasing pressures in terms of documentation, in terms of regulation that increase our overall expenses,” Hellman said. “The result of this is that margins are really squeezed from both ends.”

Hellman said combining with other large orthopedic physician practices will allow all three to implement more innovative programming, create direct-to-employer contracting, and bring value-based care to the state.

John Ryan, CEO of OrthoIndy, added that there was a common interest among the three practices to remain independent. He said many physician practices—including orthopedic practices—are being acquired by hospital systems or private equity firms, and the challenges currently facing the industry make practices more vulnerable.

“When we decided that we wanted to remain independent, but we needed scale and we needed a better geographic footprint, we then turned to seeking out other like-minded physician practices that also wanted to remain independent…and really wanted to remain in control of their own destiny,” Ryan said.

Currently, OrthoIndy has 1,250 employees, while Fort Wayne Orthopedics employs 240 people, and Tri-State Orthopaedics employs 221, according to an OrthoIndy spokesperson.

The three practices said there are no plans for any job cuts as a result of the merger. Under the new OrthoIndiana umbrella, each practice will maintain separate clinical operations and maintain their current names and branding to preserve their localized focus.

Each practices will also retain their respective boards of directors while also creating a new, shared board for OrthoIndiana.

“This scale makes OrthoIndiana one of the 10 largest independent orthopedic practices in the nation, and it ensures our practices can continue to provide top-tier orthopedic care while implementing strategies to avoid the rising costs associated with health care nationwide,” Dr. Paul Perry, president of Tri-State Orthopaedics, said in written remarks.

Hellman noted that patients should expect no change in the services they currently receive.

“This isn’t going to affect the doctor-patient relationship at all,” he said.

News of the merger comes a little over two years after OrthoIndy announced an alignment with the Lafayette Orthopedic Clinic. About a year later, the practice detailed a partnership with Mishawaka-based Franciscan Health to open a new orthopedic clinic and surgery center in West Lafayette.

OrthoIndy also announced in October plans to combine with Indiana Hand and Shoulder Center in Indianapolis, a deal that is expected to be complete this spring.

Ryan said these mergers are part of an overall goal to take OrthoIndy’s services statewide.

“Our objective, which we set out a vision for three years ago, was to be within an hour of every Hoosier in the state–making orthopedic care from us a high-quality, lower-cost alternative, available and accessible to everyone in the state,” Ryan said. “So this most recent announcement really was about building geographic footprint, but with the mindset of looking to partner with the best and the brightest in the communities that we were looking to grow into.”

Ryan said the three practices are targeting a July 1 launch for OrthoIndiana.