Dawson Med, an independent primary and urgent care practice, has acquired Batish Family Medicine, a primary care provider located in Leland. 

Beginning April 1, Dawson Med at Leland began operating in the building that formerly housed Batish Family Medicine at 304 Village Road NE. 

According to physician Umar Bowers, co-founder and medical director of Dawson Med, the transition retained the entire team that formerly worked for Batish Family Medicine. The reaction from patients who formerly visited the family practice has been encouraging, Bowers said. 

"The response has been amazing because I feel like patients vote with their feet, and these are a self-selected group of folks who've already clearly determined their preference is the independent model,” he said Wednesday. 

Sanjay Batish, who founded Batish Family Medicine in 1998, has retired from direct patient care and plans to relocate to Raleigh, according to the provider’s website.

"We've had an overwhelming level of thanks and gratitude and appreciation, a lot of hugs, a lot of relative sadness with Dr. Batish retiring, but patients have been really excited,” Bowers said.

The acquisition of Batish Family Medicine included two buildings on Village Road in Leland, which now fall under the Dawson Med umbrella. 

Bowers said the practice also signed on husband-and-wife family medicine physicians Andrew Marburg, who is originally from Wilmington, and Jiyun Chang, a former MedServe fellow at Sanjay Batish’s practice.

Umar Bowers and his wife, family nurse practitioner Tiffany Bowers, co-founded Dawson Med in 2021. Tiffany Bowers grew up in Rocky Point and was born at the region’s flagship hospital, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

"From our beginning, we have been very thoughtful about what that means for (Tiffany Bowers) to come home and be part of a business entity in her hometown,” said Umar Bowers.

He added that signing on Marburg, whose father was also a physician in Wilmington, was significant. 

"It was my desire to be a community node in Wilmington when we launched in 2021,” said Umar Bowers, “and that would be our goal in Brunswick County as well, just to invest in the community."

He said talks about expanding to Leland started a little over a year ago. 

"I'm a big student of data, and it's not a secret that Brunswick County has been and continues to be the fastest-growing county in the state,” Umar Bowers said.

“With all of the growth happening from large systems in and around Brunswick County, there should still be the counterbalance of independent primary care,” he added, “delivering that level of healthcare to Brunswick County residents in a manner that either they’ve been accustomed to or are looking for."