Alhambra-based physician practice-management platform company Apollo Medical Holdings Inc. recently announced a leadership transition and a rebranding with a new company name, Astrana Health.
Brandon Sim, who for the last two years has been co-chief executive with Thomas Lam, became the sole chief executive on Jan. 19 as Lam retired from day-to-day operations of the company and became vice board chairman.
The rebranding, effective on Feb. 26, is intended to encompass the increasingly national scope of the company. The name Astrana refers to a “collection of stars” that Sim said represent “star providers and teammates.” The company will also get a new stock symbol on the Nasdaq exchange: ASTH.
This is the latest transformation for the medical practice management company that can trace its roots back to the launch of an independent physician organization in 1992.
Two years later, another company, Network Medical Management, was formed to provide management services to physician groups, including billing, compliance services and other accounting and administrative services. After a series of other organizational moves, these two entities formally merged in 2016 under the name Network Medical Management. The following year, that entity merged with Apollo Med, a company formed years earlier by two doctors, Kenneth Sim (Brandon Sim’s father) and Thomas Lam; that’s when the company took its current form as a publicly traded entity on the Nasdaq.
With this latest set of moves, son Brandon Sim is now fully in charge and the company is taking on yet another new identity.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to continue leading ApolloMed as we accelerate our path towards our mission to deliver exceptional care to communities across the country,” Brandon Sim said.
Just hours after the chief executive transition announcement came news of the rebranding.
“Astrana Health represents a unifying brand that reflects our rapidly expanding national footprint and our deep commitment to providing high-quality care to local communities across the country,” Sim said in that announcement.
“Our new name is inspired by roots that refer to ‘a collection of stars’, paying homage to our company’s founding physicians and aptly representing the company’s star providers and teammates, who are allying together to deliver accessible, high-quality, and high-value care as a well-coordinated network, or constellation, to patients nationwide,” Sim added.
Shareholders took the twin announcements in stride; the stock inched down 12 cents that day to close at $36.70. The stock has since edged down a bit more, closing Jan. 26 at $35.28.
