CRH Healthcare, the parent company of Peachtree Immediate Care, and SmartCare Urgent Care are pleased to announce the merger of their two urgent care networks.  This merger represents the consolidation of the two exclusive urgent care partners of the Emory Healthcare Network.  The new combined urgent care network will total 25 Atlanta (and Athens, GA) area locations with three more scheduled to open later this year. With the exception of Athens, all locations will operate under the co-branding of Peachtree Immediate Care and Emory Healthcare Network. As the largest network of urgent care centers in Atlanta and Georgia, the centers treat over two hundred and fifty thousand patients per year and are within a 15-minute drive of 60% of Metro Atlanta's 6.1 million residents.

"We are delighted to be part of the Peachtree Immediate Care network," said Samir Bhatia, CEO and Founder of SmartCare Urgent Care. "It was important for us to merge with another company that values our staff, state of the art equipment, and a core focus on patient care." While the companies have taken different paths to growth in the Atlanta area, both have been focused on similar fundamentals of being convenient, caring, courteous, competent and compliant—the 5 Cs that make up CRH's vision statement. The Atlanta network of over 80 providers (including board certified physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) are trained in family care, occupational health, and internal medicine and are supported by a staff of over 280 caring nurses, medical assistants and front desk associates.

"We are excited to welcome the SmartCare staff to our family," said Bill Miller, the CEO and co-founder of CRH.  "Having met the SmartCare leaders in 2012, we were always impressed with their operations and success. We are very excited to now have the opportunity to work with their team of highly qualified professionals and to consolidate the network of urgent care centers serving the expansive Emory Healthcare Network. We look forward to serving the Metro Atlanta area, Athens and their surrounding communities as a new combined team."

Finally, Patrick Hammond, CEO of the Emory Healthcare Network, was very supportive of the strategy and merger. He said, "Both partners have provided patients with convenient care solutions and access to Emory's extensive network of over 2,000 physicians and 70 specialties throughout Atlanta. It makes sense for their complementary geographic locations to now work together toward the same goals. We are excited to continue growing the relationship with the combined company to improve quality outcomes and manage costs efficiently."