ATLANTA—EyeSouth Partners has completed an affiliation with Montgomery Eye Physicians and Prescription Eyewear, which marks the firm’s first partnership in Alabama, according to an announcement late last week. EyeSouth also noted that Alabama “will be a priority growth state for the company in the future.” Montgomery Eye Physicians will continue to operate under its brand, with no changes to its staff, physicians or locations, according to the announcement. EyeSouth, an eyecare-focused management services organization committed to partnering with leading physicians in the Southeast, is backed by Shore Capital Partners, a lower middle-market health care private equity firm.

EyeSouth’s affiliate network consists of approximately 75 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care services at approximately 50 locations throughout Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, the announcement noted.

Montgomery Eye is led by its partners Dr. Tom Mitchell, Dr. John Swan, and Dr. In Shin and functions with four total ophthalmologists, including the three partners and Dr. Katherine Donnithorne. It also includes three medical optometrists, Dr. Michael Bradford, Dr. Tim Meadows and Dr. Tyler McFaden.

The practice employs approximately 75 support staff across three locations in Montgomery and Prattville, Ala. Founded in 1945, Montgomery Eye was the first comprehensive ophthalmology practice in the Montgomery metropolitan area (the River Region).

“Finding a strategic management partner that was going to help ensure the long-term success of the practice for our patients and employees was critical,” Dr. Mitchell, who has been practicing at Montgomery Eye since 1987, said in the announcement. “We are thrilled to have found EyeSouth and to join their network of high-quality practices throughout the Southeast.”