PHILADELPHIA—Vantage EyeCare LLC, which was formed earlier this year with the intention of becoming the largest, private ophthalmology group in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, has added three eyecare companies to its operations, according to an announcement Friday. The three are: Century Eye Care (with offices in Bristol and Langhorne, Pa.), Northern Ophthalmic Associates (with offices in Pennsylvania’s Jenkintown, Norristown and northeast Philadelphia) and South Jersey Eye Physicians (with offices in Columbus, Medford and Moorestown, N.J.). The three new divisions will come under the Vantage EyeCare umbrella effective Jan. 1, according to the announcement.

Julia Lee, chief executive officer of Vantage EyeCare, told VMAIL that there are no private equity investors involved in any of the Vantage EyeCare transactions. The company is 100 percent physician-funded, she explained, and the “doctors have invested their own dollars” to establish the organization. She said the group believes it can “achieve the same scale and same sophistication” as those groups that are part of the PE-led consolidation of eyecare practices. Vantage EyeCare also expects to expand further over the next few months, but no details are available at this time.

The terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Under the terms of the deal, Century Eye Care will merge with Tri-County Eye Physicians & Surgeons division, according to the announcement.

Vantage EyeCare describes itself as an “independent physician organization” that believes the best way “to remain patient-focused is to remain physician-led,” according to the announcement.

Vantage EyeCare was originally comprised of 45 providers, 25 service locations and 300 employees. With the addition of Ophthalmic Surgical Associates in July 2018, and now the three new divisions, Vantage Eyecare will have 85 providers, 36 service locations and 536 employees—nearly doubling in size—to serve the diverse needs of its patients, the announcement noted.

“At its core, Vantage EyeCare offers a collective commitment to the highest standards of care despite the increasing complexities of delivery,” according to the announcement. The group strives to offer “personalized care from a foundation of doctor-patient trust and collaboration.”