RF Investment Partners and Kian Capital Partners, two lower-middle-market-focused private investment firms, are proud to announce the formation of US VisionMed Partners, a management services organization (MSO) supporting established, medically focused optometry practices nationwide.
US VisionMed is one of the only platforms in the United States going beyond the bounds of routine and retail-centered offerings, focusing on serving patients who may require more complex optometric care. The platform’s locations serve patients with an emphasis on specialty and medical services and products such as exams, diagnostic testing, dry eye treatments, vision therapy and myopia management. Kian and RF invested in US VisionMed alongside Lakewood Healthcare Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm, as well as the practitioners leading each location.
“We’ve gathered an outstanding group to form this leading-edge, unified MSO for the medically focused optometry space,” said US VisionMed Partners CEO Vance Wells. “US VisionMed offers a unique opportunity for independent optometrists to practice at the top of their licenses, offering advanced patient care while also reducing costs within the US healthcare system by identifying and treating serious conditions sooner. With Kian and RF’s support to execute on our M&A initiatives, the deep healthcare experience and knowledge base from Lakewood and the world-class practitioners driving the excellence of each location, this is a supercharged platform primed for success.”
Kian and RF will partner with US VisionMed management to thoughtfully source and execute additional practice acquisitions, building density in existing markets and expanding nationwide in complementary markets. Lakewood will focus on enabling organic expansion through its healthcare industry expertise and operational optimization support for practice leaders. The platform recently added a CFO and COO and will continue deliberately building out its executive team through a combination of new hires and M&A.
“Optometry is a highly fragmented healthcare segment that has not historically offered supportive consolidation opportunities for medically focused and specialty practices,” said Kian Partner Jordan Lee. “Our goal is for US VisionMed to support partner practices in offering enhanced care by strengthening operational efficiencies and creating a collaborative group of experienced colleagues that can help improve processes and, ultimately, patient outcomes across the platform. Partnering with RF and Lakewood will only elevate the platform’s success, and we are excited to be building this together.”
“We see tremendous potential to advance patient care and improve outcomes within the eyecare sector through our work alongside US VisionMed,” shared RF Co-Founder and Managing Partner Peter Fidler. “In partnership with Kian and Lakewood, we are committed to helping the US VisionMed team grow strategically through the expansion of medical services, and by adding compatible practices to further enhance the platform’s footprint in key regions. With the addition of Lakewood’s healthcare expertise and our past successes investing in and growing differentiated platforms across the healthcare sector, we aim to support an integrated team of optometry professionals dedicated to helping remove costs from the healthcare system by delivering high-quality, accessible care across the nation.”
US VisonMed is actively seeking partnerships with established practice groups or doctors of optometry looking for support in their next chapter of growth. For questions about the platform investment, please contact RF Director Tyler Katz at tkatz@rf-partners.com. For brokers or owners of practice groups of all sizes seeking a partner for growth, please reach out to US VisionMed Partners CEO Vance Wells at vwells@usvisionmedpartners.com.
