OhioHealth buys Max Sports Medicine

OhioHealth Corp. is growing its sports medicine program with the acquisition of an 11-physician Columbus practice.

Central Ohio’s largest hospital system said Tuesday that it has acquired Columbus-based Max Sports Medicine. In addition to its 11 physicians, the practice has 33 staff members at four locations in the area. The practice is headquartered at OhioHealth’s McConnell Heart and Health Campus near Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Christina Fitzer, a spokeswoman at Riverside, said the company isn’t disclosing financial terms of the deal. The acquisition retains all employees, branches and Max’s name.

Max is now part of the more than 200-doctor OhioHealth Medical Specialty Foundation, which added its first member a year ago with the acquisition of MidOhio Cardiology & Vascular Consultants. That was the largest such transaction on the region’s health-care landscape since Mount Carmel Health System bought the New Albany Surgical Hospital in December 2006. OhioHealth two months ago added Columbus-based Millhon Clinic Inc., a practice with 12 physicians and 44 staffers.

Max Sports offers primary care and sports medicine for school-age, college and professional patients and active adults. They’re also team physicians for Otterbein College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University and a number of area high schools.

“The sheer breadth of sports medicine expertise and experience of the physicians and staff at Max Sports Medicine is impressive,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for OhioHealth, said in a release. “To bring that experience and successful practice model into the OhioHealth Medical Specialty Foundation will benefit our patients and provide a deeper knowledge base as we continue to expand and enhance our sports medicine expertise.”