St. Francis and Columbus Clinic announced a partnership between the two organizations.

"Our goal at St. Francis is to become a fully integrated medical system that emphasizes health management and promotes wellness in addition to treating sickness," said Robert Granger, president and CEO at St. Francis. "Columbus Clinic has an excellent reputation for patient-centered care and a top team of primary care physicians, specialists, hospitalists and mid-level providers who have served the Chattahoochee Valley for the past 25 years. By working collaboratively, we will be able to offer our community more efficient, clinically superior care."

"Working together with other physicians and hospitals is the future, and we at Columbus Clinic have always prided ourselves as being at the forefront," said Dr. James "JP" Miller, an internal medicine physician at Columbus Clinic. "As a multispecialty group, we understand the vital role of collaboration among multiple disciplines and look forward to collaborating with St. Francis specialists. We are excited to join the St. Francis family."

The collaboration will expedite patient care by eliminating duplication of efforts, including diagnostic testing. "Our physicians will be able to access test results more quickly and easily," said Jim Zacharias, CEO of Columbus Clinic. "Care will become more cost effective as well as more comprehensive and better coordinated."

Additionally, the new partnership gives Columbus Clinic physicians access to Mayo Clinic expertise through St. Francis' membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network. St. Francis joined the network in November 2013.

"The St. Francis Board and administration work hard to anticipate the needs of health care in the community. This new partnership is an example of that," said Dr. Butch Wolff, chairman of the St. Francis Physician Leadership Board. "Our medical group has a lot of respect for the physicians at the Columbus Clinic, and we are all glad they are now part of our team."