Northwest Community Healthcare’s Medical Group expanded its network of expert doctors on Thursday, Sept. 29, by acquiring Northwest Family Physicians. The addition of the single-site practice gives the NCH Medical Group more than 50 physicians at five convenient locations in the northwest suburbs.
Northwest Family Physicians, which has been incorporated since 1995, serves more than 10,000 patients of all ages, from infants to senior citizens. With offices in Suite 140 at 1700 W. Central Road in Arlington Heights, the primary care practice consists of James Ekeberg, MD, John Lightfoot, MD, Ena Hennegan, DO, and Nurit Crystal, MD. The name of the practice will change to NCH Medical Group.
“Joining the NCH Medical Group allows for better integration among patients, primary care doctors, specialists and the hospital, and that strengthens our delivery of modern healthcare,” said Dr. Lightfoot. “There’s definitely value to physicians and hospitals working together.”
The NCH Medical Group offers a broad range of outpatient and inpatient services in addition to advanced treatment options at Northwest Community Hospital. Each patient’s medical records are connected to the hospital, to specialists and to outpatient sites, making scheduling easier and eliminating extra testing.
“It all adds up to a better patient experience,” said Michael Hartke, executive vice president of Clinics and Regional Services at NCH. “We can take care of your basic healthcare needs, but also use the extensive resources of our system to excel in complex cases that require multiple doctors working from the same playbook.”
Northwest Community Hospital and Affinity Healthcare LLC — the first physician practice to partner with NCH — launched a partnership in September 2010 to create a coordinated system of care. To further demonstrate the connection between these partners, Affinity was renamed NCH Medical Group, and adopted a corresponding logo as well.
Patients of the NCH Medical Group can go online to request doctor appointments, ask questions, download and complete registration forms prior to their office visit, and register for free health seminars. Learn more by visiting www.nchmedicalgroup.com. Physician offices are located in Arlington Heights (3), Buffalo Grove and Mount Prospect.
Community members who need to find a trusted physician can quickly be directed to one by visiting www.nch.org/doctors or by calling HealthConnection at 847.618.4YOU (4968).