FastMed Steps into Texas

FASTMED's partnership last Spring with private equity firm ABRY was expected to spur the urgent care operator's growth with an influx of capital and management talent.  Hats off to FastMed for its initial foray into the Lone Star State with the December acquisition of Texas Urgent Care.  As one of the fastest growing urgent care organizations, FastMed added Texas Urgent Care's 14 clinic locations in the Austin, San Antonio, Tomball and Waco metropolitan areas.  

Former Texas Urgent Care owner, Dr. Ashish Singhal noted a shared commitment to high quality patient care and is "…excited to develop the preeminent urgent care platform across Texas." 
>>Read more

Related:
FastMed Partners with ABRY - Expansion Expected

Pediatric Therapy Owners Now Have Exit Strategy Options

The pediatric therapy healthcare sector is comprised mainly of therapists or owners who operate 1-2 centers.  Their options to retire, sell their practice and monetize what they had nurtured for years were very limited.  While big therapy companies were primarily interested in acquiring adult practices, financial investors could not see a clear path to a return on investment.

Now, like many newer industries, the pediatric therapy sector has evolved into a bigger, more mature enterprise.  Consolidators and investors alike have a newfound respect for this specialty.  

So, is this good news for a pediatric therapy owner?... a resounding YES!

First: owner's options to sell the business, add to their retirement nest egg and transition the practice into "good hands" have increased.

Second: the value of their practice has probably increased substantially.   Pediatric therapy has always been highly respected by the healthcare community and now with the respect of the financial world - it is a very good thing.

Care to learn more...give us a call.  We'll be happy to share additional insight.

ATI Adds NE to Footprint

Two successful Massachusetts PT practices recently joined the growing ATI family.  The nationwide rehabilitation provider announced the acquisition of Sports & Physical Therapy Associates (SPTA) and Attain Therapy + Fitness in early December.  ATI, now boasts over 500 locations and offers "Bay State" patients over 30 rehab locations.  >>Read more

2016 Healthcare Predictions

Fortune Magazine writers don't pretend to have a crystal ball but they do have a few interesting predictions for the healthcare industry.  Here's a peek:

• FTC will block a major hospital merger.
•  Major hospital system will divest itself from its  employed doctors.
• Employers start to treat healthcare costs as seriously as travel expenses.  

Now, look at the rest.

What’s It Worth?

We’re talking about your business... 

And, knowing it’s current value should be top of mind for today’s business owners.  Surprisingly, that’s not always the case.  While a business valuation is required for a $ale, it’s also commonly used for tax purposes, estate planning, qualifying for a loan, etc.  In general, an annual ballpark estimate of company value is a good idea.

If it’s been a year or so...call us (610-527-8400) – we’ve helped many healthcare services business owners learn their worth.  We can help you, too.

Active Start to Nov. for Home Health

Amedisys, a leading home health care and hospice company led off November with their announcement to acquire of Infinity HomeCare ($63M).  The acquisition of Sarasota-based Infinity expands Amedisys' footprint into a key state with Infinity's 15 Florida centers.  But, there's more activity ahead…as CEO Paul Kusserow revealed the company has 300+ targets in its pipeline.  

Separately, Almost Family (AF), another leader in the home health care sector, announced the $40M acquisition of Home Care By Black Stone in Ohio.  The latter, a home health services provider, operates in western Ohio and complements Almost Family's existing Ohio operations.  William Yarmuth, AF CEO, expects the combined operations to establish the company as "the largest senior focused home health provider in the state…”

Related:
Almost Family

Ensign Reaches the East Coast

California-based Ensign Group extended its reach to the East Coast with a recent acquisition of a South Carolina skilled nursing facility - Millennium Post Acute Rehabilitation.  The facility joins the Ensign family under a new portfolio subsidiary, Hopewell Healthcare, Inc.

Separately, Ensign added two more skilled nursing facilities to its roster on the West Coast (AZ, CA).  These acquisitions boost the healthcare organization's portfolio to 182 - with operations that include skilled nursing/assisted living, physical, occupational & speech therapy, home health and hospice services as well as urgent care.

No stopping now…as the Ensign Group continues its search for other well-performing healthcare opportunities.  >>Read more

MT Consulting to Exhibit at PPS 2015

MT Consulting, the mergers & acquisitions firm specializing in physical therapy practices, will exhibit at the upcoming APTA Private Practice Section 2015 Annual Conference & Exhibition.   Orlando, Florida - the destination, Nov 11-14 - the timeframe... for physical therapy practitioners & owners, vendors and those allied to the field to network and learn.  The Expo annually held in conjunction with the national conference will be open on Thursday and Friday (Nov 12-13).  

Look for MT Consulting at Booth #310.  MT's Tony Lynch, one of the PT industry's most knowledgeable brokers, will be on hand to greet PPS attendees.  See you in Orlando!…   >>Read more 

HCA Acquires NV Urgent Care Centers

HCA announced the acquisition of Urgent Care Extra's Las Vegas operations this week.  The 14 Urgent Care Extra urgent care centers combine with HCA Sunrise Health System's local facilities. The acquisition supports HCA's overall strategy of improving patient access to healthcare in markets served. 

Urgent Care Extra, founded in Phoenix in 2004, continues it's Arizona operations with significant coverage of the Phoenix market and four Tucson locations.  >>Read more

PhysicianOne Adds One More

Connecticut-based PhysicianOne Urgent Care continues its expansion with the acquisition of a former ASAP Urgent Care location in Hamden, CT.  More clinics, expected by year-end, will bring the PhysicianOne total to 12.  >>Read more

Applause for ADCS & Audax

No summer break for Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery (ADCS), a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity.  ADCS was busy completing four separate practice acquisitions over July and August (Philadelphia, Traverse City and Lansing MI  and Venice, FL).  They mark September with their latest acquisition - Dermatology of Northern Colorado (DNC) in Ft. Collins, CO, founded in 1987.  DNC joins Fort Collins Skin Clinic (a September, 2014 acquisition) under the ADCS umbrella serving patients in the Fort Collins area.  

With the ADCS add-on, Audax reached a milestone…it's 500th acquisition!

BenchMark Rehab Partners with Marino

Marino Therapy Centers, the well-established greater Knoxville, TN practice founded by Mary Jo Marino now resides under the BenchMark umbrella.   Marino's three locations will take on the BenchMark name as a result of the recent partnership.


Both companies have worked side by side in the Knoxville area for 20+ years sharing a focus on quality patient care and each enjoying a strong company culture.   With the mid-September  announcement, Benchmark's Sr. VP of Operations, David Myers, noted... 

"We will leverage our collective genius, learn from each other, and become stronger for it."

HC Expansion in the Southeast

Physical Therapy   BenchMark Rehab Partners welcomed new partners to its physical therapy organization in late July.  Owned by Scott Newton, Pulaski-Ardmore PT strengthens the BenchMark brand - recognized in the field of orthopedics and wound care.  The two new BenchMark clinics serve their respective communities (Pulaski and Ardmore) in south central Tennessee.  They join one of the nation's leading outpatient physical therapy organizations offering administrative services support and focused on clinical outcomes, payor and physician relationships and community programs.

"…This partnership will enhance our services to meet the needs of our local and surrounding communities and withstand the turbulence of upcoming healthcare changes."    ~ Scott Newton

Urgent Care   Atlanta-based CRH Healthcare, founded in 2012, set out to build a consumer and quality-focused urgent care operation.  It recently established itself as a leader in one of its key market areas with the acquisition of Physicians Immediate Med.  CRH added 10 service locations to its four existing Peachtree Immediate Care brand clinics to effectively cover the metro Atlanta market.  

MSouth Equity Partners along with Capstar and Cadence Bank provided transaction financing for the recent acquisition.  MSouth is expected to be on hand to support future CRH expansion in the Southeast.     >>Read more

Another Acquisition for MEDNAX

Millennium Anesthesia Care (Tampa, FL) is the latest physician group to move under the MEDNAX umbrella.  The practice employs 79 clinicians.   Dr. Jim Gruber, spokesman for Millennium noted the trend toward healthcare consolidation and benefits of a national medical group (access to resources, support and long-term stability) as reason for their affiliation 
>>Read more

Related:

New Growth Platform for MEDNAX

ADCS Focus on Michigan

Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery (ADCS) continues its advance into Michigan.  The national derm group acquired the Grekin Skin Institute, a multi-site Southeast Michigan practice, in 2014.  With a focus on his home state, Dr. Steven Grekin, now a regional Midwest director and business development officer has been busy.  He's added several practices under the ADCS banner in 2015.  These include the four clinic Dermatology Associates of Northern Michigan,  Dr. Michael Redmond's Livonia practice and in late July another northern Michigan practice, Bay Area Dermatology (Traverse City).  Dr. Grekin's 2015 goal for Michigan is to expand to 15 offices with an eye on 30 locations by 2017.

ADCS added another solo practice in late July.  Dr. Howard Goldman is now part of the ADCS team.  His practice complements other Advanced Philadelphia-area locations.  

With the recent Michigan and Pennsylvania acquisitions, ADCS owns more that 115 clinics - clearly the leading derm organization in terms of locations.   >>Read this and more

Related:
ADCS Adds Offices Out West
Nationwide Derm Practice Adds Midwest Clinic
Derm Platform Continues Buying Spree

American CareSource to Add NC UC Clinics

The Atlanta-based urgent care chain, American CareSource, is strengthening its east coast presence.  With the upcoming acquisition of Medac Health Services, P.A., American CareSource will add four Wilmington, NC locations - increasing its total to 14 urgent care centers.  Currently, the chain operates clinics in suburban Washington, D.C., Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

American CareSource also offers a range or primary care and specialty health services, including occupational medicine and veterans care.

>>Read more

TeamHealth Expands Footprint with IPC Deal

TeamHealth (TMH), the physician staffing provider, is teaming up with IPC Healthcare.  The $1.6B all-cash deal establishes the firm as a leading physician services organization.

The merger should increase the TMH network of healthcare professionals to 15,000 nationwide across multiple specialties.  Of note is IPC staffing strength in the acute hospitalist and post-acute markets.  This complements the solid presence of TMH professionals in emergency medicine, anesthesia, urgent care, pediatric and management services in approximately 1,000 civilian and military hospitals, clinics and physician groups in 47 states.

TeamHealth President and CEO Mike Snow noted: 

“Through this combination, TeamHealth will be better positioned to capitalize on key trends as the U.S. healthcare industry moves toward value-based reimbursement with an increased focus on post-acute care and services…"

>>Read more

Is Bigger Better?

“Big is going to be better. Small is not going to survive." 

These are the words of an East Coast healthcare exec earlier this year.  Many analysts agree and apparently, so do some healthcare leaders - given the flurry of M&A activity in June/July and 2015.  Consider:

• Mergers / sale of US hospitals (e.g.: Tenet's sale in St. Louis)
• Acquisition of physician groups and/or HC practices
• Target's pharmacy & clinic business sale
• Nursing facility buys (e.g.: Genesis HealthCare)
• Revenue cycle management services acquisition (i.e.: ROI Companies)
• And, the pieces de resistance --- Aetna's $37B BIG BUY

Time will tell if the trend (probably) and pace continues (Check back in a few..).

Walgreens Shopping List...

No specific targets mentioned but the drugstore's new CEO, Stefano Pessina, is forthright in his intention to grow the firm.  >>Read more

What's your best guess on Walgreens' next acquisition?

Aetna Kicks It Off

As part of an expected wave of consolidation, Aetna's deal to acquire Humana is valued at $37B.  And, it's a big one - the largest health insurance merger to date.

If approved by regulators, the merger will combine Humana's Medicare Advantage business and Aetna's diversified portfolio and commercial capabilities to create the second largest U.S. managed care company.  Some of the anticipated results include:

• Higher quality healthcare at lower cost; enhanced convenience for consumers
• Increased Aetna Medicare Advantage membership (to 4.4M)
• Enhanced Aetna pharmacy business
• Strong care management capabilities by leveraging best-of-breed provider solutions

Current Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini will lead the combined company.  According to Aetna, the acquisition is expected to close by the summer of 2016.  >>Read more

MinuteClinic Starts to Roll...

CVS MinuteClinic expansion continues… to meet their goal of 1500 clinics by 2017.  

The growth spike will result from the planned CVS Health acquisition of Target's pharmacy and clinic business (47 pharmacies in 47 states).  Target's 80 walk-in clinics will be rebranded as CVS MinuteClinics. Twenty new clinics are planned to open in Target stores within 3 years. >>Read more

Related:

MinuteClinic…Here to Stay

OneSmile, LLC Debuts as New Dental Platform

Dental industry veterans, Steven Bilt and Bradley Schmidt are on track again with San Francisco-based Gryphon Investors.  The recent partnership will focus on building a new company, OneSmile, into a Dental Services Organization (DSO) platform.  Initial efforts will involve acquiring dental practices in the western U.S.

The parties are well acquainted as Bilt and Schmidt were part of the executive team at Smile Brands, Inc. -- a previous Gryphon portfolio company.  The dental duo successfully built Smile Brands from inception to a company with 400+ locations and revenue of $500M.  >>Read more

NextCare Even Deeper in AZ

NextCare Urgent Care extended its reach in the Grand Canyon State with three recent acquisitions.  As one of the nation's largest urgent care providers, it's 35 Arizona locations offers healthcare services to over 90% of state's population.  These acquisitions continue the company's active expansion over the last 12 months…+23 clinics across the U.S.  >>Read more

FastMed Partners with ABRY - Expansion Expected

Private equity firm, ABRY, is set to acquire FastMed, the second largest independent urgent care organization in the U.S.  The acquisition will include FastMed's 87 clinics and the corporate offices in North Carolina and Arizona.  Currently, FastMed employs more than 1,100 - which include physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.  FastMed CEO, Kevin Blank noted:

"The additional capital and management talent that ABRY provides will allow us to significantly expand our geographic footprint and grow organically as well as through targeted acquisitions…."

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, 2015.  >>Read more

Drugstore Giant Partners to Offer Telehealth

Walgreens Boots Alliance, the merged drugstore and health retailer, is rolling out a new mobile app.  The latest app goes beyond facilitating Rx refills and a pharmacist chat to enable shoppers to consult with a doctor virtually via smartphone.  (MDLive, a telehealth provider, is Walgreens' partner.)

Already tested in California and Michigan, the app will go live for Illinois Walgreens' shoppers at the end of May.  The virtual doctor app is expected to roll out to 25 states by the end of 2015.  >>Read more

MinuteClinic…Here to Stay

The retail arm of CVS Health - MinuteClinic - reached an impressive milestone.  Since opening its first retail clinics in 2000, MinuteClinic locations have served 25 million patients.  The retail clinic began as an experiment in Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin and has steadily evolved not only in size but service.  Today, Minute Clinic locations number approximately 1000 with the goal of over 1500 clinics by 2017.  Currently, the clinics offer 65 services and vaccinations (up from treating just 7 illnesses in the beginning).   >>Read more

New Growth Platform for MEDNAX

Virtual Radiologic Corporation (vRad), a leading radiology physician services and telemedicine company will soon provide MEDNAX with another revenue stream.  With the vRad acquisition, expected to be complete in Q2, MEDNAX adds radiology to its current specialty list which includes neonatal, anesthesia, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology.  

MEDNAX CEO, Roger Medel, M.D. noted that...

"…vRad is an excellent platform for growth in teleradiology and the broader telemedicine market…“Radiology is a large, fragmented industry… and it is evolving rapidly to include teleradiology as an economic and clinical necessity for customers.” 

>>Read more

✔ FACT:  The market size for Radiology is estimated at roughly $18B annually

Millennials Driving Healthcare Change

Millennials will change the course of healthcare, according to a PNC Healthcare survey conducted in January, 2015.  Note the trends among this demographic group (age 21-32) poised to overtake boomers in buying power...

• Desire for speedy delivery of care (preference for retail clinics)
• Greater reliance on word-of-mouth marketing (e.g. Yelp, Healthgrades)
• More online review of insurance options prior to selection
• Preference for upfront treatment estimates
• Kicking care down the road (due to high medical costs)

>>Read more

PE Partnership to Spur Vet Growth

VetCor, an operator of U.S. veterinary hospitals, now enjoys backing by two private equity firms (Harvest Partners and Cressey & Company) as it continues its growth spurt.  VetCor, one of the few platforms in the veterinary services space, currently manages 137 veterinary hospitals across 19 states.  Dan Adams, CEO & President, will continue to lead the company.   >>Read more

2015 Kicks Off with Home Healthcare Buys

The Ensign Group, a company that provides a variety of home healthcare and rehabilitative services acquired Scottsdale, Ariz.-based, Alarys Home Health.  Alarys has offered home care and home health services since 2003.  The Ensign Group operates in eleven states and over 100 facilities, primarily in the Western U.S.
 

Addus HomeCare Corporation is a long-standing provider (since 1979) of personal and adult day care services.  The company is headquartered in suburban Chicago and operates in 19 states.  Their January 1 acquisition of Priority Home Health Care, Inc. expands their footprint in Ohio with six offices in the Cleveland, Akron and Columbus areas.  >>Read more