Dignity Health Welcomes New Emergency Care Team at St. Mary Medical Center

Long Beach, Calif.  - Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center (SMMC), officially welcomed their new partners from Vituity, a physician-led and -owned multispecialty partnership, to the Emergency Care Department today.

The new partnership expands on a more than 40-year relationship of Vituity doctors jointly caring for Dignity Health patients. As the Long Beach community continues to battle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are confident this partnership will bring additional expertise and resources to bear.

“St. Mary Medical Center has served Long Beach for nearly 100 years, and we are excited to welcome this new Emergency Care team that will aid us in our commitment to provide our community with the high quality of care they deserve,” said Carolyn Caldwell, Hospital President, St. Mary Medical Center. “We are confident that the additional resources and personnel that Vituity brings to SMMC will be invaluable in our efforts to constantly improve on the already excellent medical care we provide to the Long Beach community we serve.”

Dr. Jeff Tsai, Vituity’s Southern California regional medical director, was welcomed back to the hospital where his career began. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to make a positive contribution and return to the hospital where I started my career. The Vituity spirit of collaboration and leadership will be a great addition to the Long Beach community particularly during these trying times.”

Along with the new healthcare professionals, almost 70% of the physicians who were part of the existing Emergency Care team have joined Vituity, enabling seamless continuity of care for our patients. Dr. Ali Jamehdor, St. Mary’s new Medical Director of Emergency Services shared, "We are extremely excited to be joining the St. Mary Medical Center family. Our goal is to deliver high-quality, compassionate care for patients presenting to the Emergency Department. We pledge to treat all our patients with courtesy and respect, listen to concerns, and provide patients and their family with expert, unparalleled care."

About Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center

Founded as a faith-based hospital in 1923 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center is a 389-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital located in Long Beach, California. The hospital offers a full complement of services, including a Level II trauma center, cardiac and vascular center, surgical weight loss, maternity and the CARE Center, which is a recognized PrEP center of excellence. The hospital shares a legacy of humankindness with Dignity Health, one of the largest health care systems.

About Vituity

As a physician-led and -owned multispecialty partnership, Vituity has proactively driven positive change in the business and practice of healthcare for nearly 50 years. Our more than 3,500 doctors and clinicians provide a wide range of integrated acute care expertise. Serving over 6.4 million patients annually at more than 300 practice locations, our footprint continues to rapidly expand across the country as we partner with and support hospitals, health systems, clinics, payers, and employers. Vituity’s acute focus and compassionate care are the driving forces that have placed us at the heart of better care.

Our services span the entire Acute Care Continuum, including emergency medicine, acute psychiatry, acute neurology, hospital medicine, critical care, anesthesiology, acute care surgery, telehealth, post-acute care, and outpatient medicine.