(BIVN) – Bay Clinic Health Center will merge with Island Pediatrics in an effort to address the physician shortage in Hawai’i County, the two organizations announced on Tuesday.

Here is the full news release:

Bay Clinic CEO Dr. Kimo Alameda and Island Pediatrics owner Dr. Joseph D’Angelo have announced their intention to merge their practices under the leadership of Bay Clinic. Dr. D’Angelo, a long time pediatrician in Hilo stated, “I’ve known Dr. Alameda for many years as a great leader and community advocate and then learning about the extra services that Bay Clinic can offer my patients are the reasons why I am excited about this partnership.”

Alameda is happy about the merger as well. He states, “If health care workforce projections used group practice estimates, the predicted physician shortfalls would be much smaller. This is because patients served within a team-based approach to care have greater access to services and other equally capable healthcare professionals than patients served by a solo practice.”

Although Island Pediatrics is now administratively under Bay Clinic, the office on Wailuku Drive and the office staff will remain the same. Island Pediatrics has provided health care for Big Island’s children and young adults for 20 years. Notably, Dr. D’Angelo is the only pediatric cardiologist on the island. Having an on-island cardiologist for children is critical because it prevents children with mild and moderate heart concerns from having to travel to Oahu for specialty care.

“We are excited about the expansion of pediatric services with Dr. D’Angelo’s practice being our fourth pediatric office in East Hawai’i. His specialty in pediatric cardiology is another service we can offer under our umbrella of services.” Alameda said.

Prior to this new site on Wailuku Drive, Bay Clinic provided services at nine different locations in East Hawaii from Hilo to Ka’ū. Bay Clinic is the only health entity on the island that also offers Dental, Behavioral Health, Women’s Health, Pharmaceutical, Pediatric, Tobacco Cessation, Diabetes Prevention, and the WIC Program. They serve over 21,000 patients with approximately 70,000 patient visits a year, and employ over 190 employees.