The “Eyes” Have It
Ophthalmology Sets New Mark
Richmond, Virginia and Bettendorf, Iowa may have more in common than one might initially think. Both cities serve as home for two highly regarded ophthalmology practices, and both made some notable improvements in their financing.
Virginia Eye Institute (VEI) is headquartered close to the University of Richmond campus and has 24 providers. While the company enjoyed a good relationship with its existing banks, the leadership felt that best business practice should be maintained by revisiting the financing market. After speaking with similar practices around the country, VEI turned to CMAC. The group owns four medical office buildings and had fairly disjointed financing across numerous loans. CMAC was able to secure a deal with one of the incumbent banks that resulted in a simplified structure at significantly improved rates and terms with no personal guarantees. The new loan also provided substantial cash out to the owners. The executive team and ownership were thrilled with the outcome and the management of what can sometimes be an arduous process: “Once again, thanks for the great work done on this project by your team. It’s been a very good experience. Our doctors will be most pleased when we deliver their distribution checks at our partner meeting this Friday. They are all scurrying around trying to find a way to spend it”.
Bettendorf, Iowa is one of the Quad Cities that also include Moline, Illinois, which is the home of ORA Orthopaedics. Based on ORA’s experience with CMAC, ORA’s CEO suggested that Eye Surgeons Associates in Bettendorf might also benefit as a CMAC client. Through CMAC, Eye Surgeons didn’t merely improve its financing; it set a new mark for competitive pricing across the country. By partnering with a bank eager to increase its medical market share, some of the skinniest pricing CMAC has ever arranged was secured for the ophthalmology practice. The bank was willing to forego its normal level of profitability in order to build a relationship with this well-established eye group.
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