January 31, 2012

Medical Properties Trust in $400 Million Transaction with Ernest Health, Inc. to Add 16 Hospitals to Portfolio

FFO Accretion of 26%

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPW) today announced that it has agreed to a series of transactions with Ernest Health, Inc. that will add 16 existing post acute care hospitals to MPT’s investment portfolio for approximately $300 million. In addition, the Company will acquire a significant percentage of Ernest Health’s operations, in partnership with Ernest Health’s management team. This $400 million transaction increases Medical Properties Trust’s overall assets by 25 percent, to more than $2.0 billion.

Upon completion of the transactions, which is subject to regulatory and other customary conditions, MPT is expected to have investments in 78 hospital facilities in 24 states, total assets of approximately $2.0 billion and no tenant group that represents more than 20% of its total assets. The transactions are expected to add approximately $0.19 per share in funds from operations in the 12 months following the closing, which is anticipated to occur during the first quarter of 2012. Based on MPT’s most recently disclosed expectations of future FFO, the incremental FFO from the Ernest transactions will represent an increase of 26%.
Founded in 2003, Ernest Health, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading operators of long-term acute care hospitals (“LTACHs”) and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals (“IRFs”). Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ernest operates 16 properties (8 LTACHs and 8 IRFs) with 606 beds across nine states. Subsequent to the transactions, Ernest will be managed pursuant to agreements with current executive management, including Darby Brockette, Ernest’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We are delighted to welcome Ernest Health to the MPT family of premier healthcare facilities,” said Edward K Aldag, Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. “We have known the Ernest management team for a long time and we have watched the company grow from its inception during the same year MPT was founded. We have been very impressed with Ernest’s growth and with the management team’s dedication to the delivery of high quality healthcare.” Aldag continued, “With transformative, highly accretive transactions like these, we continue to demonstrate our unique ability to create high quality long term sources of cash flow from hospital real estate. Completing these transactions will give MPT upside potential to the long term growth of Ernest, and adds another premiere post acute hospital operator to our relationships with others such as Vibra, Kindred,Healthsouth, LifeCare, Cornerstone and Post Acute.”

Among other benchmarks of quality, Aldag noted that Ernest Health’s inpatient rehabilitation facilities have been ranked among the top five percent of more than 800 IRFs in the United States – and that has held true of each Ernest rehabilitation hospital during each year of its operations. “This commitment to outstanding patient outcomes is only one of the many factors that make the acquisition of Ernest Health so attractive,” Aldag said.

TRANSACTION DETAILS

MPT will acquire the real estate assets of 12 Ernest facilities for an aggregate purchase price of $200 million, and lease the properties back to Ernest under a master lease structure with an initial term of 20 years and three five-year extension options. The real estate of four other Ernest facilities will serve as first lien collateral under a $100 million master mortgage loan with economic terms substantially similar to the master lease. The master lease, the master mortgage loan and the development agreements are all cross-defaulted and cross-collateralized.

A venture between an MPT affiliate and existing management of Ernest will acquire Ernest Health, Inc. for approximately $100 million, including approximately $96.5 million in MPT financing. MPT will have rights to a significant percentage of the profits and distributions of Ernest.

The Company intends to fund the acquisition with a combination of borrowings under MPT’s revolving credit facility, borrowings under a new term loan facility, as described below, net proceeds from other debt or equity capital market issuances, or a combination of the foregoing.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as MPT’s exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

PORTFOLIO UPDATE AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

Upon completion of this transaction, Medical Properties Trust’s portfolio metrics will approximate the following:
• Largest operator will comprise 20% of pro forma total assets;
• Assets in California will comprise 22% of pro forma total assets;
• MPT’s largest property will make up 4% of pro forma total assets;
• General acute care hospitals will comprise approximately 51% of total invested assets, LTACHs 27%, and IRFs 21%

At December 31, 2011, the Company had total real estate investments of approximately $1.5 billion comprised of 62 healthcare properties in 21 states leased to 20 hospital operating companies. Based solely on the portfolio as of December 31, 2011, the Ernest transactions, the related financing transactions, and the first quarter completion of the Florence hospital currently under construction, the Company estimates that annualized Normalized FFO per share would approximate $0.88 to $0.92 per diluted share. The Florence Hospital in Arizona, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2012, will add approximately $0.03 of FFO annually per diluted share, as previously announced. Such amounts do not include any amount for income from operating company equity.

This estimate will change if, among other things, the Ernest transactions are not completed, the Company acquires additional assets, market interest rates change, debt is refinanced, new shares of common stock are issued, additional debt is incurred, assets are sold, the River Oaks property is leased, other operating expenses vary or existing leases do not perform in accordance with their terms. In addition, these estimates do not include the effects, if any, of real estate operating costs, litigation costs, debt refinancing costs, acquisition costs, new interest rate hedging activities, write-offs of straight-line rent or other non-recurring or unplanned transactions; nor do they include earnings, if any, from the Company’s profits interests or other investments in lessees.

“This is just the beginning of 2012 and there is still plenty of time left for making other investments this year,” Aldag concluded. “There are many other opportunities to invest with other strong hospital operators like Ernest Health, and we are enthused about the additional growth possibilities in 2012 and beyond.”

SENIOR CREDIT FACILITIES

In connection with announcement of the Ernest transactions, on January 31, 2012, the Company received a commitment letter and term sheet for an $80.0 million senior unsecured term loan facility from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC. The term sheet provides for customary financial and operating covenants, substantially consistent with the Company’s existing revolving credit facility, including covenants relating to total leverage ratio, fixed charge coverage ratio, mortgage secured leverage ratio, recourse mortgage secured indebtedness, consolidated adjusted net worth, unsecured leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio, and covenants restricting the incurrence of debt, imposition of liens, the payment of dividends and entering into affiliate transactions. The term sheet also provides for customary events of default, including among others, nonpayment of principal or interest, material inaccuracy of representations and failure to comply with our covenants.

The Company expects to close and fund the new term loan facility concurrently with the closing of the Ernest transactions. Effectiveness of the new term loan facility is subject to, among other things, definitive documentation and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Company cannot guarantee that it will be able to successfully close the new term loan facility on the terms described herein or at all.

The Company’s existing revolving credit facility includes an accordion feature pursuant to which borrowings thereunder can be increased up to $400.0 million from $330.0 million. The Company requested a $70 million increase in its revolving credit facility contemporaneously with the closing of the new term loan facility. The Company expects that the administrative agent under the revolving credit facility will arrange a syndicate of lenders willing to hold the requested incremental revolving commitments but the Company cannot guarantee that commitments will be obtained for this incremental facility. The Company currently has $1.3 million outstanding under its revolving credit facility.

October 11, 2011

Drive Medical Expands its Respiratory Presence with the Acquisition of
Inovo, Inc./CHAD Therapeutics

Drive Medical is pleased to announce the acquisition of Inovo, Inc./CHAD Therapeutics (“Inovo”), a leading manufacturer of oxygen conserving devices, regulators and other respiratory products into the home care, long-term care, hospital and emergency markets. Inovo manufactures a broad line of patented oxygen conserving devices and regulators under private label for several leading manufacturers and distributors in the industry, as well as under its CHAD Therapeutics brand. Inovo acquired CHAD Therapeutics in 2008, which positioned Inovo as the leading manufacturer of pneumatic and electronic oxygen conserving devices in the industry.

Inovo will operate as a stand-alone division of Drive and will continue to manufacture its products from its state-of-the-art, ISO certified facilities located in Naples, Florida under the direction of George Harris, who will continue in his capacity as CEO of Inovo, and Michael Mulroy, the President of Inovo.

“Inovo will provide Drive with significant research and development capabilities. We are pleased to welcome Inovo into the Drive family. Inovo’s market leadership and strength of their respiratory product portfolio is another important component in our plans for continued growth in the respiratory product category,” states Harvey Diamond, Chairman and CEO of Drive Medical.

Richard Kolodny, President of Drive notes, “The success of Inovo has been driven by their focus on innovation, quality and commitment to manufacturing excellence. Their state-of-the-art, ISO manufacturing operations are designed to manufacture the highest quality products in the industry, which provide customers with a peace of mind with every purchase.”

George Harris, CEO of Inovo states, “We are looking forward to becoming part of the Drive team. Being part of the Drive organization will bring significant opportunities for Inovo to grow its business within the industry.”

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

August 10, 2011

Drive Medical Acquires AquaJoy Bathlifts Limited, a UK Manufacturer

Drive Medical is pleased to announce the acquisition of AquaJoy Bathlifts Limited (“AquaJoy”), a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality, versatile and reliable bathlifts and related products. AquaJoy has won many awards for their products and service excellence. Their strength is further evidenced by their strong position in the U.K. government sector.

“We are pleased to add AquaJoy to the Drive family. The combination of their product excellence and strength in the U.K. government sector with our broad product portfolio will accelerate AquaJoy’s growth and the growth of Drive’s existing business,” states Harvey Diamond, Chairman and CEO of Drive Medical.

AquaJoy has had successes with its Premier Plus reclining lift and, more recently, with the Saver rigid lift. The success is attributable to the strong leadership of Hugh
Malone and Claire Cudden, as Managing Director and Sales and Marketing Director, respectively.

“We are extremely pleased to have Hugh Malone and Claire Cudden join the Drive team. They
are highly respected professionals within the industry, with a proven track record for growing and sustaining sales in the bathlift segment,” stated Richard McGleenan, Managing Director of Drive Medical Limited. Mr. Malone and Ms. Cudden will continue in their existing roles.

Hugh Malone added “Being part of Drive Medical opens up significant opportunities for AquaJoy in broadening our product line and offering access to a wider range of products to our existing customers.”

“We are proud of our success with our Premier Plus and Saver bathlift lines. Joining forces with Drive Medical allows us to broaden our product distribution and offer our versatile, expertly designed products to a wider customer base,” states ClaireCudden.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

July 21, 2011

SAIC TO ACQUIRE VITALIZE CONSULTING SOLUTIONS, INC.

Company to Expand Health Solutions Portfolio to Help Customers Better Address Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation and Optimization Demand

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) [NYSE: SAI] today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vitalize Consulting Solutions (VCS), Inc., a leading provider of clinical, business and information technology (IT) services for healthcare enterprises.

VCS provides a comprehensive range of healthcare IT services including strategic consulting, system implementation, operational improvement, custom reporting, training, education and knowledge transfer. The company specializes in the implementation and optimization of electronic health record (EHR) systems from major commercial-off-the shelf vendors, as well others within the ambulatory and practice management arenas. VCS primarily serves customers in the commercial hospital market that are implementing EHR products and systems.

The acquisition will strengthen SAIC’s existing government health solutions business as Federal customers are expected to implement commercial products in the development and enhancement of their EHR solutions. It will also provide the company a dynamic channel into the commercial health provider market, as well as the ability to leverage its information integration and data analytics expertise with VCS’ healthcare IT and clinical workflow optimization capabilities. The complementary nature of this combination is expected to provide further opportunities for growth as commercial and Federal health markets converge.

As a result of the deal, approximately 600 VCS employees will join SAIC's Health Solutions Business Unit (HSBU), led by Steve Comber. HSBU is a part of the Health, Energy and Civil Solutions Group, led by SAIC Group President Joe Craver.

“Acquiring VCS enables SAIC to increase its presence in the commercial and federal healthcare space by offering solutions that meet our customers’ critical needs, while offering the opportunity for cost reduction and improved patient care,” said Craver.

“We at Vitalize are excited to join the SAIC team,” said Bruce Cerullo, chief executive officer of VCS. “SAIC, a healthcare IT service leader in the government sector, and Vitalize in the commercial hospital and ambulatory market, will create a force to be reckoned with. Our clients can look forward to expanded service line offerings, and our people to new career growth opportunities – all provided with rigorous attention to ensuring VCS and SAIC remain together – a great place to work.”

The acquisition is expected to close in early August 2011, subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

July 14, 2011

Nuance Acquires Webmedx

Acquisition Complements Nuance Transcription Services and Clinical Understanding Solutions Portfolio; Brings Top-Rated, #1 in KLAS Medical Transcription Services Provider

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that it acquired Webmedx, the #1 KLAS-ranked transcription services provider.  Webmedx, which offers transcription and editing services and clinical documentation technology for hospitals and clinics nationally, will strengthen Nuance Transcription Services (NTS), Nuance’s fully-managed, medical transcription services offering. In addition to complementary transcription leadership and scale, Webmedx’s natural language processing (NLP) driven Quality Analytics application enhances Nuance’s clinical language understanding (CLU) innovations, whereby actionable information improves business and clinical decisions.

“Webmedx’s award-winning clinical documentation services and technology strengthens and
expands Nuance’s work with healthcare organizations as they undertake EHR adoption and strive to achieve Meaningful Use,” said Janet Dillione, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Healthcare. “Additionally, Webmedx will help to accelerate Nuance’s efforts to extend the power of its speech-driven solutions so that clinicians’ spoken words are not simply transformed into text, but through clinical understanding solutions can be used for clinical decision making, leading to improved patient care and a reduction in overall healthcare costs.”

The addition of Webmedx brings many advantages and synergies that are expected to
complement Nuance’s presence in the healthcare market, as well as accelerate the future
development of clinical understanding solutions that can significantly reduce costs and improve processes for the healthcare industry:

• Award-Winning Performance and Client Satisfaction – The Webmedx acquisition brings
  to Nuance award-winning medical transcription services that have achieved proven success.  Webmedx’s customers include more than 100 leading hospitals including Bon Secours, and Catholic Healthcare West. Webmedx’s strong customer satisfaction is represented by industry recognition from KLAS Enterprises with a two-year #1 rating in the Transcription Services category and a #1 rating for Professional Services in the KLAS 2010 “Transcription Services: Competition, Technology, and Consolidation” report.

• Enhanced Outsourced Speech Editing Services – By complementing the Nuance
  Transcription Services offering with medical transcription services from Webmedx,
  healthcare provider organizations will have an increased array of options for the rapidly growing market of speech editing and transcription services at highly competitive prices.  Webmedx also brings to Nuance its Medical Technology Education Center (MTEC), the first Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) approved online speech recognition editing and medical transcription school. MTEC is a unique training resource focused on high levels of clinical documentation quality. It is known for its reputation for excellence and has contributed to Webmedx’s ongoing delivery of quality and longstanding market reputation.

• Complementary, Natural Language Processing Innovation –Webmedx has made
  significant advancements in the conversion of unstructured, dictated/speech-recognized text into structured and actionable clinical information, aligning well with Nuance’s strategy and investments in Clinical Understanding technologies. Together, the companies will accelerate the delivery of healthcare IT solutions that can advance quality analytics to support Meaningful Use, enhance the revenue cycle and improve patient care and compliance.
  

“Through the delivery of high-quality, speech-enabled medical transcription services, Webmedx has focused on improving the clinical documentation process while upholding high levels of customer satisfaction,” said Sean Carroll, chief executive officer, Webmedx.  “Together with Nuance, we can expand upon and advance the physician-centric documentation services and solutions we provide, bring our award-winning services to a broader market, grow upon our customers’ satisfaction, and contribute to Nuance’s progressive efforts in clinical language understanding.”

According to a new report from healthcare technology research and advisory firm CapSite,
Nuance is recognized as the leading vendor that healthcare institutions consider as part of their decision to purchase a new transcription service. The addition of Webmedx further strengthens Nuance Transcription Services, bringing increased value and scale to healthcare organizations.  NTS combines Nuance’s proprietary eScription speech recognition platform, which has achieved a Best in KLAS award in speech recognition for seven years in a row, with the Company’s highly experienced, global medical transcription and editing services team.

June 28, 2011

Hillcrest to Acquire SouthCrest & Claremore Hospitals

Purchase will provide a significant south presence & increase access

Hillcrest HealthCare System has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the assets and operations of SouthCrest Hospital in Tulsa, Okla., and Claremore Regional Hospital in Claremore, Okla. The price and the financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

The 180-bed SouthCrest Hospital, 89-bed Claremore Regional Hospital and their affiliated physician medical groups will become a part of Hillcrest HealthCare System (HHS). The hospitals’ nurses and staff, which include more than 1,100 employees, will all be hired. The acquisition is expected to close this summer once all regulatory approvals are obtained. It will be business as usual at each hospital until the transaction is complete.

When complete, Hillcrest HealthCare System will include six hospitals with 1,159 licensed beds, more than 5,000 employees and more than 1,100 physicians.

“We’re excited to welcome SouthCrest and Claremore Regional to the Hillcrest family of hospitals,” said Kevin J. Gross, CEO of HHS and Oklahoma Division president of Ardent Health Services. “This acquisition creates an immediate and significant presence for us in the fast-growing and competitive south Tulsa County. It will increase access to important health care services for Hillcrest and SouthCrest patients, as well as provide closer specialized care to residents of Rogers County. This transaction will mean a dramatic improvement for both systems.”

For years, Hillcrest has developed its presence in Broken Arrow, Jenks, Glenpool and other south Tulsa County communities, adding clinics, physicians and some diagnostic equipment. When this acquisition is complete, it will have a large hospital in the center of the high-growth area.

“Very soon, we’ll be in a much stronger position in south Tulsa from which to compete,” added Gross.

“Since 2004, when Ardent Health Services purchased Hillcrest, we’ve been investing, building new hospitals, adding new services and creating new jobs. This acquisition completes an important piece of our strategy.”

For Claremore and Rogers County residents, the transaction means more health care choices, improved access and important specialty care that is closer at Hillcrest Medical Center in downtown Tulsa and Bailey Medical Center in Owasso.

In the coming weeks and months, Gross and his management team will work closely with physicians and members of leadership at SouthCrest and Claremore to create and implement a smooth transition that will enhance quality and patient services.

The acquisition is another example of investment in Tulsa and Oklahoma by Hillcrest’s parent company, Ardent Health Services. To date, more than $262 million have been invested into Hillcrest’s facilities, equipment and people since 2004.

April 27, 2011

K2M Expands Degenerative Product Offering with 510(k) Clearance for
EVEREST Spinal System

Dual Material Pedicle Screw with Versatile Multi-Rod Technology Debuts at 2011 SAS Conference

K2M, Inc., a spinal device company developing innovative solutions for the treatment of complex spinal pathologies, today announced at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (SAS) Conference that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the EVEREST™ Degenerative Spinal System, a versatile top-loading polyaxial pedicle screw system featuring the ability to accommodate multiple levels of fixation rigidity to help surgeons individualize patient care. The system provides for both titanium and cobalt chrome rods of two different diameters, 5.5 and 6.0 mm, limiting inventory and increasing adaptability. 

EVEREST is designed to maximize both osteoporotic and dense bone fixation and the modified square thread of the locking set screw may reduce the potential for cross-threading. Additionally, the mixed material screw head minimizes splay compared to a screw head made entirely of titanium, which improves the biomechanical performance of the construct. 

“A combined team of surgeons and engineers worked closely together to design
the EVEREST Degenerative Spinal System, which utilizes both titanium and
cobalt chrome and optimizes thread pitch for use in both osteoporotic and dense
bone fixation,” stated Dr. John Carbone, Orthopedic Surgeon at Harborview
Reconstructive Spine & Orthopedic Specialists. “In my opinion, the strength, range of motion, and stiffness of EVEREST provide surgeons the intraoperative flexibility to address a variety of surgical pathologies.”

“FDA clearance for EVEREST is an important expansion of our product offering for treating Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), as well as more complex pathologies,” stated Eric Major, K2M’s President and CEO.  “EVEREST is a next generation system inspired by the lessons learned from our expanding product portfolio and has been designed to be a best-in-class degenerative fixation system.”

February 10, 2011

The Valley Hospital and Webmedx Partner to Reduce DNFB, Improve Clinical Documentation and Automate Quality Reporting

Natural Language Processing (NLP) Coupled with Clinical Documentation Services Boosts Core Measure Scores and Improves Coding Accuracy

Webmedx, a leading medical content provider and the third largest medical transcription service in the U.S., today announced that The Valley Hospital, a 451-bed acute care facility and member of Valley Health System in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has begun an enterprise-wide implementation of Webmedx's newest solution for clinical documentation improvement (CDI) and quality reporting, QualityAnalytics™. In addition, the organization recently installed Webmedx's web-native technology, Enterprise5, for clinical documentation and is using the company's Best in KLAS* outsourced transcription services to support over 800 physicians across all clinical departments.

"QualityAnalytics moves our medical record reviews from retrospective and manual to concurrent and automated," mentions Dolores Sarra, HIM Director. By identifying and reviewing cases sooner, Sarra expects to shorten the entire revenue cycle and reduce discharged-not-final-billed. "Rather than querying physicians for quality issues or coding clarification after discharge, we'll be able to immediately identify cases and take action to capture the documentation we need concurrently, while the patient is still in-house," she adds. QualityAnalytics streamlines, automates and aggregates case review thereby doubling productivity. Quality nurses and other case reviewers review 100% more cases in 40-60% less time.

Brad Haspel, Assistant Vice President of Ancillary Services at The Valley Hospital, was instrumental in naming Webmedx as the organization's new clinical documentation partner. "We selected Webmedx for their advanced technology infrastructure, extremely rapid report turnaround times and reputation for delivering on promises," Haspel mentions. The company was tied for first place in keeping promises, according to the *KLAS 2010 "Transcription Services: Competition, Technology, and Consolidation" report. Rated #1 in their category for professional services by KLAS two years in a row, Webmedx received the highest overall service score ever in 2009, and an even higher score of 92.3% in the "2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards" report available at: www.KLASResearch.com. This achievement has never been equaled in the history of KLAS Research for this category.

An advanced NLP, text and data mining system, QualityAnalytics identifies and abstracts discrete information concurrently from narrative, free-text documents and other clinical systems, and converts it to actionable data for a variety of secondary uses. Discrete data derived from narrative reports, Narradata™, can be used for upload to the EHR, clinical documentation improvement (CDI), coding reviews, RAC audits, patient safety, core measures monitoring and more. Users conduct ad hoc searches on virtually any phrase or diagnostic code using the NLP engine, without the need for custom reports or IT department intervention.

"The future of Webmedx is clinical document intelligence through searchable text and narrative informatics," mentions Sean Carroll, CEO, Webmedx. "We are honored to partner with The Valley Hospital in these three clinical documentation areas," he concludes.

January 26, 2011

AMERITA ACQUIRES ADVANTAGE INFUSION SERVICES IN SAN ANTONIO, TX

Acquisition marks company’s first “in market” purchase and consolidation opportunity

Amerita, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Advantage Infusion Services located at 6019 Randolph Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78233. The purchase further advances Amerita’s plan to become the premier specialty infusion services provider in the United States.

According to the company, Amerita has acquired and built businesses in top growth areas of the country. This purchase is the first time the company has acquired a business in a market where it has an existing location. The acquisition offers the company an opportunity to consolidate operations, improve costs and become a dominant share provider in San Antonio, the seventh largest metropolitan service area in the country. The company will combine operations under the leadership of Ed Lee, Advantage Infusion Service’s owner and CEO, who will be retained as the Branch Manager of the combined businesses.

“Advantage Infusion Services and Ed Lee have a great reputation in the pediatric market. This is a new specialty area for Amerita in San Antonio and complements our strength in the adult nutrition market,” said Jim Glynn, Amerita’s President and CEO.

The founder and CEO of Advantage Infusion Services, Ed Lee, said, “I have been an infusion provider in the San Antonio market for more than 15 years. I watched what Amerita did when it came to town in 2006 and have been impressed with their people and process. I look forward to leading our combined companies to become the largest and best service provider in the San Antonio and the South Texas market.”

January 12, 2011

Webmedx Named Best in KLAS and Ranked #1 Transcription Services Vendor for Second Year in a Row

Webmedx, the third largest medical transcription service, speech recognition technology and intelligent clinical content provider in the U.S., today announced it has received the Best in KLAS Award for Transcription Services in the 2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report. In addition to receiving the Best in KLAS 2010 award, the company was also rated No. 1 in their category for professional services in the KLAS 2010 "Transcription Services: Competition, Technology, and Consolidation" report.

Webmedx is the first, and only, two-time winner in this category and received the highest overall performance ranking ever, 92.3% in the Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards report. The company dominated the vendor performance data finishing first or tied for first in eight of the fifteen categories, nearly double the number of the second-place vendor in the transcription services report. Webmedx led the top four vendors and outpaced seventeen other transcription service companies in the four categories most important to healthcare providers: best service compared to others, peer/friend recommendations, keeping promises (tied), and highest service and support (tied). In addition, Webmedx ranked nearly 12 percentage points higher than the nation's largest MTSO, MedQuist.

Company CEO, Sean Carroll, attributes the consistent, repeat performance to superior technology combined with a 100% U.S.-based workforce. Webmedx is the only top-five transcription vendor to provide their services 100% domestically. Graham Triggs, KLAS director of financial and services research and author of the transcription services report states that "onshore is still the best bet" with an overall satisfaction rating of 8.0, nearly 16% greater than offshore services, which ranked an average of only 6.9 in user satisfaction.

In addition, Webmedx's "strong technology and ongoing issues resolution are reasons for success," mentions Triggs. According to Webmedx, the company's technology and performance has allowed it to move beyond simply providing transcription services. The company also provides advanced front-end voice recognition and natural language processing (NLP) solutions for data mining, clinical content intelligence, and quality reporting for core measures and meaningful use.

Other report highlights include:
Perfect score of 100% for keeping promises.
Dominated a side-by-side vendor performance comparison, winning or tying for highest score in 8 of 15 categories.
Named best overall service compared to others, 64% of the time.

"The future of Webmedx is clinical document intelligence through searchable text and narrative informatics," concludes Carroll. The company delivers innovative solutions centered on clinical data; bringing together information from multiple silos and unlocking its value.

KLAS reviews vendor evaluations submitted by thousands of healthcare providers and reserves the Best in KLAS award for top-rated companies in the largest and most impactful market segments. Providers seeking to replace or implement new outsourced transcription services can purchase either KLAS report at: www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

January 05, 2011

Irving Place Capital Agrees to Recapitalize National Surgical Hospitals

Irving Place Capital (“IPC”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, announced today that it has signed agreements to recapitalize, in partnership with senior management, National Surgical Hospitals (“NSH”), an owner, operator, and developer of surgical facilities in partnership with local physicians. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The NSH management team and employees have built a premier surgical facilities company over the last 10 years. The shareholders are very pleased that the NSH management team has partnered with IPC and David Crane to pursue the company's next phase of growth.”
Founded in 1999, NSH currently owns and operates a network of 14 surgical hospitals and seven ambulatory surgery centers located in 10 states across the U.S. The transaction also includes the acquisition by NSH of a majority interest in Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital, a surgical hospital located in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Upon completion of the transaction, David Crane will become Chairman of NSH’s Board of Directors, working closely with the company’s existing management team to realize the company’s growth objectives. Mr. Crane, who currently serves as a Senior Advisor to IPC, has more than 25 years of operating experience at physician-partnered surgical companies, having been CEO of Medcath, Inc. (MDTH) and currently serving as Chairman of New Hope Bariatrics.

John G. Rex-Waller, President and CEO of NSH, said, “IPC's capital strength will allow us to reinvigorate our acquisition program and enhance our ability to add services and invest in the latest proven technology to empower physicians to deliver better outcomes for patients. We welcome David Crane as our new Chairman. His breadth of knowledge of the physician-partnered health services industry will be invaluable as we take our well proven model of delivering superior cost-efficient results by working closely with physicians into the new world of national healthcare reform."

IPC will replace NSH’s current owners, led by Ferrer Freeman & Company, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and JPMorgan Asset Management.

Bob Juneja, Senior Managing Director at IPC, said, “NSH is ideally positioned to thrive in the evolving healthcare industry having developed a successful operating model with their physician partners to deliver excellent clinical outcomes and satisfaction to their patients. We look forward to working closely with NSH’s strong management team to help the company acquire additional facilities as well as expand its existing facilities’ capabilities.”

David Freeman, Co-Founder of Ferrer Freeman & Company, said, “The NSH management team and employees have built a premier surgical facilities company over the last 10 years. The shareholders are very pleased that the NSH management team has partnered with IPC and David Crane to pursue the company's next phase of growth."

Jefferies Finance LLC has provided fully committed financing for the transaction. The transaction is expected to close around month-end.