Premise Health expands mid-market employer reach

Premise Health, a company that runs on-site clinics for employers, is expanding its portfolio of clinics that serve groupings of employers.

Premise bought TransformHealthRx, a company out of Statesboro, Ga., that offers clinics and wellness centers to employer groups in addition to onsite clinics.

TransformHealthRx is similar to IMWell Health, an Arkansas-based company that runs clinics for mid-size employers, school districts and municipalities in the Southwest. Premise, based in Brentwood, bought IMWell earlier this year.

TransformHealthRx operates 17 sites in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho and Indiana. Premise runs more than 500 sites in 46 states, Guam and Puerto Rico, for employers including Fortune 1000 companies.

Acquiring TransformHealthRx gives the company the chance to "improve the cost and quality of employer health care to a broader market," said Stu Clark, CEO of Premise Health in a statement.

On-site clinics are a way for employers to manage health care costs. The clinic staff can work with employees to manage chronic conditions and keep the network of providers more narrow, which helps keep costs down.

Not all employers are large enough to sustain their own clinic but want the benefits of having a dedicated site for employees.

TransformHealthRx will keep its leadership team and will take advantage of clinical and technology resources as well as capital under Premise, said CEO and Founder Allison Judge, who called the deal a "natural next step" for the firm.

Premise is a portfolio company of Water Street Healthcare partners, a Chicago-based private equity fund. It was established in 2014 via a merger of CHS Health Services and Take Care Employer Solutions. Premise employees close to 4,500 with about 500 in Middle Tennessee.

Reach Holly Fletcher at 615-259-8287 or on Twitter @hollyfletcher.