LLR Partners and WellPoint announced a growth capital investment in Physicians Immediate Care, a provider of management services to 20 independently owned medical clinics in Illinois, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

These clinics offer urgent care, occupational medicine, physical therapy and employer services such as physicals and drug screening. The financing will be used to expand the network and enhance the patient care offering of the clinics managed by Physicians Immediate Care.

A veteran of the healthcare services industry, Stanley B. Blaylock also invested in Physicians Immediate Care and is joining the company as president and chief executive officer. Blaylock most recently was the president of Walgreens Health Services, the managed care and specialty services division of Walgreens. Prior to Walgreens, Blaylock was the president and CEO of Medmark, a national provider of specialty pharmacy services. Blaylock co-founded Medmark in 2003 and helped it become one of the most rapidly growing healthcare services companies in the U.S. before its sale to Walgreens in 2006.

“Rising costs, a shortage of primary care physicians and crowded ERs are driving consumers to seek more convenient, cost-effective care,” said Scott Perricelli, partner on the Healthcare Services investment team at LLR Partners. “The demand has escalated urgent care to a multi-billion-dollar industry serving more than 150 million patient visits per year, but no single provider owns more than a small share. Under the proven leadership of Stan and his management team, Physicians Immediate Care LLC has the opportunity to enhance the position of Physicians Immediate Care clinics in this market by striving to deliver better, faster and more affordable healthcare.”

“This investment aligns with WellPoint’s strategy to expand growth outside of our core insurance business and provide consumers with convenient, affordable access to health care – in this case, within a retail environment,” says Brett Moraski, vice president of transformation and head of HealthyCare Solutions for WellPoint.

LLR Partners provides capital to middle-market growth companies with proven business models in a broad range of industries.