LAS VEGAS - February 4, 2009
Canyon Gate Medical Group has acquired Sparks Family Medicine on West Twain Avenue in the Summerlin area as part of a campaign to dramatically expand its personalized-service primary care practice in Las Vegas.

Canyon Gate offers concierge-type medical care guaranteeing patients quick, one-on-one attention from their doctors. It now has eight doctors in the Las Vegas area and hopes to expand to have 45 physicians at 12 local locations by the end of the year, a spokeswoman said.

Canyon Gate Medical Group is an affiliate of Outcome Based Delivery Systems, owner of medical practices in Las Vegas and South Florida.

Canyon Gate already has offices next to Southern Hills Hospital and across from Sunrise Hospital. Two more doctors will start working for the company in the next few months at 3960 W. Craig Road in North Las Vegas. Three physicians work out of the Sparks Family Medicine office.

The company says it has no membership fees and accepts most insurance coverage, making it affordable for most insured Las Vegans.

Sparks Family Medicine was founded in 2002 by Dr. Amy Sparks. It is a family-run medical office focusing on primary care, pediatrics and geriatrics. The terms of its sale were not disclosed.

The newly acquired Sparks Family Medicine will keep that name and will also call itself a "Canyon Gate Medical Group affiliate."

"We are thrilled to have Dr. Sparks and the staff at Sparks Family Medicine join Canyon Gate Medical Group," Dr. Eric Moskow, chief executive officer of Canyon Gate Medical Group, said in a statement. "Dr. Sparks exudes the passion and vision for high-quality patient care that we look for in all of our physicians. We hope to expand the practice into a full-service location with imaging, laboratories and pharmacy care by the end of the first quarter of the year."

Canyon Gate said it matches each patient with one primary doctor who is available to them 24 hours daily over the course of their life; serves as medical liaison with specialists, during hospital stays and emergency room visits; and offers same-day appointments with minimal wait times.

"Canyon Gate Medical Group holds a great vision for healthcare in Las Vegas," Dr. Sparks said in a statement. "I have always sought to maintain the quality of care, patient service and sense of community associated with the 'small town' practices I remember from my residency in Kansas. This new partnership will allow our patients to have one location for the majority of their medical needs, enhancing their quality of life and access to superior healthcare."

"This new business venture will present our staff with security, benefits and a corporate leadership while allowing the constant focus to be on highly personalized patient care," Brett Sparks, practice manager, said in a statement. "Our employees are truly like family, and we are excited about the opportunities that this acquisition provides that we could not do on our own."

Over the course of his 20-year career, Moskow said he has developed treatment values based on the idea that patient satisfaction would increase with the availability of affordable care.

"I noticed better patient outcomes across the board," he said. "When the doctor-patient relationship is amicable and care is the priority, it really changes the scheme of things."

Moskow said he decided to bring the model, which has been operating successfully in Florida for the past 10 years, to Las Vegas after learning about the valley's shortage of properly trained primary care physicians and health care issues.

"What you've had in Las Vegas is a medical environment ripe with major fraud issues," he said. "I wanted to seize that opportunity to fill the void of ethical primary care doctors with physicians that are both ethical and affordable."

Clinics are staffed by four primary care physicians, each of whom are limited in the number of patients they can work with, according to executive Vice President Bryan Dieter.

"We want to ensure that each individual receives personalized health care and attention," he said.

Moskow said the group is working to build a network of specialists, such as cardiologists, general surgeons, gastroenterologists and gynecologists, to address specific health issues.

"Specialists within our network will also adhere to our philosophy and standard of care, beginning by meeting our patients at the primary care doctor's office. This will take time. But we have been very successful in Florida, and we hope to have a full network stabilized over the course of the next year."

According to Dieter, appointments at Canyon Gate locations are never rushed and patients are contacted with test results the same day they are received.

"You will have a doctor that is willing to listen," he said. "A doctor who will go to bat for you if he disagrees with the specialist. A doctor who will do more than just diagnose you when you show up sick, but will work to ensure that you stay healthy."

Canyon Gate already has two locations in Las Vegas. The first is at 3101 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 100A, and the second is near Southern Hills Hospital at 9280 W. Sunset Road, Suite 300. The group plans to open at least two more clinics early next year.

The North Las Vegas clinic, 3960 W. Craig Road, is projected to open in March. According to Dieter, the group hopes to have approximately 12 to 15 offices serving the Las Vegas valley in the next two years.

Office hours will be Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with plans to later offer extended hours seven days a week.

For more information, visit www.canyongatemg.com
Contact North Las Vegas and Downtown View reporter Amanda Llewellyn at allewellyn@viewnews.com or 380-4535.