Atlantic Integrated Health ("AIH") was founded in 1994 by physicians to offer accessible, cost effective and high quality health care services to employers and other health care consumers in Eastern North Carolina. AIH is a regional network of credentialed physicians who are committed and accountable to improving the health status of their patients and the communities where they practice while reducing overall health care costs for employers and other health care consumers. In 1997, AIH formed The Beacon Company ("Beacon") to be the integrator of care that links physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers into one regional health system. Beacon is a committed model of providers that offers employers and other health care consumers, single contracting authority for a full continuum of services throughout Eastern North Carolina.