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CHICAGO and CLEVELAND—Midwest Vision Partners (MVP), which is backed by the private equity firm Alpine Investors, said Thursday that it has established a partnership with Cleveland Eye Clinic (CEC), which operates across 13 clinical locations in the state. This partnership represents MVP’s second partnership in Ohio, according to the announcement. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Cleveland Eye Clinic, which was founded in 1943, is led by Dr. Bill Wiley and Dr. Shamik Bafna and has a network of 20 providers and approximately 130 support staff across its 13 sites. Over the last decade, CEC has experienced rapid growth, developing a full scope service network offering including primary and surgical eye care, LASIK and optical, according to the announcement.

“We are excited to be partnering with Midwest Vision Partners,” Dr. Wiley said in the announcement. “Their patient- and people-first approach align well with our values and will allow us to provide great care to more patients in Cleveland.”

MVP, which is based in Chicago, said the new partnership with CEC expands its network to 19 locations in Ohio with 33 physicians providing medical and surgical eye care services. (Its other partners are Northeast Ohio Eye Surgeons and Ohio Eye Care Consultants.) The firm said it operates as “a people-focused eyecare management services organization,” and is committed to partnering with leading ophthalmologists and optometrists to build a preeminent platform in the Midwest region.

MVP chief executive officer Joseph Giles said the new partnership with CEC marks an exciting time for the firm. “We’re thrilled with the momentum in Ohio and thank Dr. Wiley, Dr. Bafna and the rest of the CEC team for their trust and invaluable contribution to what we are building for doctors, staff and patients. CEC has made significant investments in their clinical research department allowing them to provide leading edge technologies in eyecare to benefit patients.”

Private equity firm Alpine specializes in middle-market companies in the software and services industries, and made its first investment in the Ohio eyecare sector in June 2019, as VMAIL reported.