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Founder / Operator·PPM Roll-Ups

Stephen Holtzclaw, MD, MBA

Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Orthopaedic Partners

Alpharetta, Georgia

SH
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Why they matter

As practicing-physician CEO of a PE-backed orthopedic rollup, Holtzclaw sits at the intersection of clinical credibility and platform M&A strategy in a hot physician-practice sector.

Background

Stephen G. Holtzclaw, MD, MBA is an emergency physician turned healthcare executive who became CEO of U.S. Orthopaedic Partners (USOP) on January 1, 2024. He previously spent over five years as CEO of Alteon Health, a physician-led acute care medical group, and before that served as President of Hospital-Based Services for TeamHealth. He trained as an EMT/paramedic, earned his MD from the University of Maryland, completed emergency medicine residency at Johns Hopkins, and remains on the Johns Hopkins emergency medicine faculty.

Notable deals

  • 2024
    Appointed CEO of U.S. Orthopaedic Partners, the FFL Partners/Thurston Group-backed orthopedic MSO platform, succeeding as leader of the Southeast's premier physician-owned orthopedic network
  • 2025
    Led USOP's physician-governance overhaul, appointing JR Woodall, MD, PhD as Board Chair and Stephen Samelson, MD as Physician Board Chair
  • 2025
    Broke ground with Mid State Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center on a new 8-suite ambulatory surgery center in Alexandria, LA, featuring robotic-assisted surgery and an in-house MRI suite
  • 2018
    Appointed CEO of Alteon Health, a Maryland-based physician-led acute care medical group, after leading TeamHealth's hospital-based services division

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Emergency physician (MD, University of Maryland; residency at Johns Hopkins) who moved into physician-group executive leadership: TeamHealth (President, Hospital-Based Services) → CEO of Alteon Health (2018–2023) → CEO of U.S. Orthopaedic Partners (USOP) since Jan. 1, 2024.
  • Still practices monthly and teaches at Johns Hopkins — retains active clinical credibility, unusual for a platform CEO.

Current focus

  • Runs USOP, an FFL Partners/Thurston Group-backed, physician-owned orthopedic MSO platform in the Southeast (HQ Alpharetta, GA; anchored by Mississippi Sports Medicine).
  • Public priorities: physician-led governance (added two new physician board chairs in Feb. 2025), de novo ASC development (Alexandria, LA project, opening 2026), and value-based/patient-centric care positioning.

What they care about

  • Preserving physician control of clinical and strategic decisions inside a PE-backed structure — a recurring theme in his public statements.
  • Scaling ancillary service lines (ASCs, imaging, PT, pain management) rather than pure practice roll-up.

Recent moves / sensitivities

  • USOP is one of many PE-backed ortho platforms drawing scrutiny (KFF, CBS) over cost/quality concerns tied to PE ownership of physician practices — worth probing tactfully.
  • No public acquisition announced under his tenure yet (last disclosed acquisition, SportsMED, predates him, 2022) — organic/JV growth (ASC builds) appears to be the current playbook rather than new platform M&A.
  • FFL Partners' hold period since the 2020 platform formation is lengthening; worth asking about exit timeline.

Questions to ask

  1. Since taking over in 2024, has USOP's growth strategy shifted from practice acquisition toward de novo ASC development and organic growth — and why?
  2. How is USOP balancing FFL Partners/Thurston Group's return expectations against the physician-governance model he's publicly emphasized?
  3. What is the anticipated timeline and thesis for a sponsor exit or recapitalization of USOP?

Outreach draft

Subject
Question on USOP's orthopedic platform strategy
Dr. Holtzclaw, I've been following USOP's growth since you took the helm in 2024 — particularly the physician-governance changes and the new Alexandria, LA ASC with Mid State Orthopaedic. Impressive model for keeping clinicians at the center of a PE-backed platform. I'm part of a deal team studying physician-practice consolidation trends in orthopedics and would value 20 minutes of your perspective on where the sector is headed — de novo ASC builds vs. platform M&A, and how sponsor-owned MSOs are managing physician alignment through a hold period. Would you be open to a short call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

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