Hospitals, long-term care facilities, physician practices, staffing agencies and individuals utilize ProviderTrust’s technology to implement the most efficient, compliant and productive way of maintaining, managing and monitoring professional credentials and licensure documentation.

There are over 10 million non-physician healthcare providers who continually need to track and share their licensure and registration information. Also, pursuant to laws and CMS Guidelines, there are thousands of healthcare organizations and agencies needing to verify and monitor the qualifications of those nurses and allied health professionals. Yet, despite these pressures, paper-driven storage and outmoded documentation processes remain the norm. ProviderTrust delivers unmatched credentialing and risk management services that create greater efficiency, increased productivity and a higher level of compliance for everyone. Today, the company has over 25 healthcare facility customers and is growing quickly.

Two experienced industry veterans lead the company. Michael Rosen, President and Co-Founder, has over twenty years of leading businesses in the service industry, including assisting in the founding of Background America, Inc. a pre-employment screening and identity theft restoration company, which was acquired by Kroll, Inc. He became a division president at Kroll managing 1,000 people in seven countries. Christopher Redhage, EVP and Co-Founder, was previously the co-founder and managing partner of Bluesky Medical Staffing Software, a leading SaaS technology solution within healthcare staffing. ProviderTrust was founded in 2010 and received initial investment from XMi High Growth Development Fund, a Nashville based venture capital fund capitalized through the Tennessee Small Business Investment Credit Act (TNInvestco) in partnership with the Tennessee Economic and Community Development department and the Tennessee state legislature.

John Burch of FCA Venture Partners and David Bartholomew will serve on the ProviderTrust Board of Directors. Larry Kloess, who recently joined FCA will serve as a Senior Advisor ,This is the most recent investment from FCA Venture Partners V, the firm’s fifth fund, which is focused on healthcare and digital media companies. “ProviderTrust meets the Healthcare industry’s demand for a more efficient, scalable service that enables providers to respond to stricter oversight in credentialing,” said Mr. Burch. “Additionally, the company can scale up in a very capital efficient manner. This enables rapid sales growth with low operational cost, which very attractive from an investment standpoint.”

About ProviderTrust
ProviderTrust is a leading healthcare risk mitigation and technology services firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. They offer Software as a Service (SaaS) credentialing and information management solutions. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, physician practices, staffing agencies and individuals utilize their technology to implement the most efficient and productive way of maintaining, managing and monitoring professional credentials and licensure documentation. For more information, visit http://www.providertrust.com/

KeraFAST serves as the on-line source of next generation research tools for life science laboratories worldwide. The company’s e-commerce catalog offers an incomparable assortment of unique bioreagents, rare materials, compounds, solutions, labware and services. Their innovative “Investigator’s Annexe™” program partners with universities and other life science research institutions to make investigators’ rare and unique laboratory-derived materials available to the global research community.

In The Investigator’s Annexe™, KeraFAST offers a unique way to extract value from sunk cost assets located in academic laboratory freezers by selling them online and sharing revenue aggressively with the source institution and investigator from each product sold.  According to Life Science Insights, approximately $80B is being spent annually on life science research in publicly financed universities, hospitals, institutions, and government laboratories worldwide, and additionally, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are spending more than $35B on R&D globally. There are more than 100,000 laboratories and 1 million scientists worldwide. The reagents and consumables market alone is $17B worldwide, with the U.S. accounting for 40% of the total market.

Robert Bondaryk, PhD, CEO, who previously held senior management positions at Fisher Scientific, Cogenics Division of Clinical Data, Proteome Systems and other life science firms, leads the company. “We are extremely pleased to partner with FCA Venture Partners for the next phase of our growth,” said Dr. Bondaryk.  “FCA brings a wealth of experience building medical and technology businesses to KeraFAST, and together we anticipate a major and rapid expansion of our opportunity in the on-line life science research tools market. KeraFAST was formed by KeraNetics, LLC in 2010 in Winston Salem, NC, and was  spun-out as an independent C-Corporation in 2011. The Company is in the process of relocating to Boston, MA.

Matt King and John Burch of FCA Venture Partners will serve on the KeraFAST Board of Directors. This investment comes from FCA Venture Partners V, the firm’s fifth fund, which is focused on technology enabled healthcare and digital media companies. “KeraFAST is led by an experienced management team with 50 years of relevant industry background. The company’s highly disruptive and scalable business model creates a vibrant marketplace allowing greater efficiency within this healthcare related industry”, said Mr. King. “We have been following the company for a significant amount of time and are very pleased with the company’s progress to date. The company will accomplish significant revenue growth and product enhancements during 2012 as well as ramping up their online marketing efforts.”

About KeraFAST, Inc.
KeraFAST, Inc., provides “Extraordinary Products…from Extraordinary Scientists”, serving as the  next generation research tools on-line marketplace for life science laboratories worldwide. KeraFAST offers an incomparable assortment of unique bioreagents, rare materials, compounds, solutions, labware and services through its e-commerce catalog. The Investigator’s Annexe™ program partners with universities and other life science research institutions to make investigators’ rare and unique laboratory-derived materials available to the research community. For more information, visit http://www.kerafast.com

The facilities are located in Tucson, Ariz., Wichita Falls, Texas and Ada, Okla., and were purchased from Haven Behavioral Healthcare . They have an aggregate of 166 acute inpatient psychiatric beds and total revenues of about $43 million.

Joey Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Acadia, said the deal represents a “great start to 2012” for Acadia, adding he expects the transaction will produce incremental annualized earnings of 20 cents to 22 cents per diluted share.

“This transaction is consistent with the continuing opportunities we see to selectively pursue additional acquisitions in the highly fragmented market for behavioral health care services,” Jacobs said.

The transaction will be funded with the net proceeds of Acadia’s December public offering of 8.33 million shares at a public offering price of $7.50 per share, as well as a partial draw on the company’s revolving line of credit.

Acadia expects to complete the transaction by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Based in Franklin, Acadia operates a network of 29 behavioral health facilities with about 1,970 licensed beds in 18 states. Nashville-based Haven is a specialty behavioral health services provider and was formed in 2006.

“We conducted a nationwide search to find the best leader at this critical time in our company’s history, to take the company to the next level of commercial success,” said Marc Buntaine, Executive Chairman of Pathfinder. “We are thrilled to have Jim on board, and we look forward to exciting growth for the company.”

Mr. Cloar takes this key leadership role in advance of the American Hepato Pancreato‐Billary Association (AHPBA) conference, where Pathfinder will showcase their image‐guided liver surgical products utilized across the United States in leading cancer centers daily. The first installations of Pathfinder’s systems are at UPMC, Memorial Sloan‐Kettering, Barnes Jewish Hospital and NIH.

“I am excited to lead a dynamic organization with innovative products that is committed to helping patients through engagement with our surgeon customers,” said Jim Cloar, President and CEO of Pathfinder. “With our team focus on research and development, as well as clinical and economic outcomes, we will provide our customers with increasingly effective planning and navigation tools to address patient needs. Pathfinder’s ability to increase the number of operable liver cancers using less invasive surgical procedures will help liver surgeons to save and extend lives while driving cost effective health care.”

About Pathfinder
Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical device company dedicated to increasing the number and effectiveness of surgeries on abdominal and other soft tissue organs. Pathfinder improves surgical precision by allowing surgeons to “see through” the organ they are operating on by registering the surgical instrument in three‐dimensional space onto pre‐operative patient medical images. Pathfinder is the first company to receive FDA clearance for a medical device to navigate liver surgery using preoperative medical images. The Explorer system uses state‐of‐ the‐art line of sight localization and laser range scanning surface registration techniques to show surgeons where they are in the context of their target organ and underlying structures. In addition to Explorer, Pathfinder sells Scout, a software system for liver surgery planning. The Company is also developing an embodiment of Explorer to be used in minimally invasive surgical interventions in the liver. Beyond the liver, Pathfinder is developing guidance systems for the kidney, pancreas, and other organs. For more information, visit www.pathsurg.com.

Cumberland Consulting Group

 Nashville, TN, January 4, 2012 – Cumberland Consulting Group, LLC, a high growth healthcare technology implementation and project management firm, announced it has been acquired by key members of Cumberland’s management team and Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in growth-oriented middle market companies.  As part of the transaction, healthcare investors and entrepreneurs R. Clayton McWhorter and Stuart McWhorter have also invested.  Cumberland’s future growth and expansion will be enhanced by the Tailwind partnership to support its organic and acquisition initiatives.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cumberland has unique experience in providing healthcare IT consulting services, including -  Planning & Assessment; Workflow Management; Vendor Selection; Software Implementation; and Project Management – to healthcare organizations as they evaluate their IT infrastructure needs, including Electronic Medical Records, Revenue Cycle systems and other technology to improve their financial performance and quality of care. Cumberland provides services across several software platforms, such as: Epic, eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, Meditech and Cerner. Cumberland’s focus on delivering high quality service has enabled it to become the consultant of choice for several leading for-profit and non-profit clients.

Geoffrey Raker, Managing Director of Tailwind, said, “This transaction represents a tremendous opportunity for Tailwind to invest in a proven platform that provides high quality services to a dynamic industry in the midst of an IT transformation. Cumberland has a very experienced management team and is well-positioned for future growth and expansion. We look forward to supporting Cumberland as it pursues future organic initiatives and acquisitions.”

Jim Lewis, a founder and Cumberland’s Managing Partner, said, “Tailwind has a proven track record of successfully investing in management-driven, growth businesses and we are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with them.  Tailwind has made a strong commitment to support Cumberland’s future initiatives such as further expanding our geographic footprint, investing in our business to serve non-provider customers, and growing our team to better service existing and new clients. We are also very excited to work with the McWhorter family whose experience and success in operating and investing in high growth healthcare businesses will be a great asset to our firm.”

Financing for the transaction was provided by Deerpath Capital and Pinnacle Financial Partners. Cumberland was advised by CHILDS Advisory Partners.

About Cumberland Consulting Group

Cumberland Consulting Group, LLC is a national technology implementation and project management firm serving ambulatory, acute and post-acute healthcare providers. Through the implementation of new technologies, Cumberland helps their clients advance the quality of patient care they deliver and improve their business performance.. For further information on Cumberland, please visit: www.cumberlandcg.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Allen

Cumberland Consulting Group, LLC

615-373-4470

Jennifer Allen@cumberlandcg.com

About Tailwind Capital

Tailwind Capital is a leading private equity firm investing in growth-oriented middle market companies in business and communications services and healthcare. Tailwind partners with management teams to build value through internal growth, acquisitions, and operational and strategic developments. The firm currently has over $1 billion under management. Representative investments include TowerCo (wireless infrastructure), Apex Companies (Environmental Services and Consulting), VersaPharm (Generic Pharmaceuticals), Archway (marketing logistics), Trover Solutions (insurance services), SDI Health (healthcare data analytics) and Optimal Solutions (IT services). For further information, please visit: www.tailwind.com.

Contact:

Brooke Gordon/Nicole Tolmie

Sard Verbinnen & Co

212.687.8080

bgordon@sardverb.com / ntolmie@sardverb.com

Friday, December 16, 2011, 6:30am CST

Chris Silva

A prominent venture capital firm is shuffling top leadership amid a $75 million fundraising round focused on health care services and technology.

Former HCA TriStar executive Larry Kloess will join Clayton Associates  as part of a realignment that will see Clayton McWhorter step down as chairman of the company and hand over control to his son, Stuart McWhorter, who remains as president.

In the wake of federal health care reform and a swift uptick in the use of electronic medical records, the stakes for finding the “next big idea” is even more important for firms like Clayton Associates associated with Nashville’s health care industry, which generates upwards of $60 billion a year worldwide.

Kloess, who served as president of HCA’s TriStar Health System for the past six years, will serve as a senior adviser for the firm and its venture capital arm, FCA Venture Partners. Kloess announced his retirement from TriStar in September.

Clayton executives feel Kloess’ experience in health care will help them identify which business plans are promising and which should be passed up.

“I’m looking forward to this opportunity to think creatively, outside of the hospital or company setting … about opportunities and ideas that make sense,” said Kloess, who will sit on FCA Venture Partners’ board and could assume board positions with portfolio companies.

Founded by Clayton McWhorter in 1996, the firm typically invests $1 million to $6 million in companies with experienced management teams who are implementing proven business models. Clayton Associates has invested over $125 million in more than 72 venture deals, which it estimates has created more than 20,000 jobs and companies representing greater than $7 billion in annualized revenue.

Clayton McWhorter said adding Kloess, his friend of more than 30 years, to the company was a no-brainer.

“To be able to say, ‘Hey Larry, does a hospital really need what these guys are trying to sell? Will it make the hospital more efficient?’ I think this is really going to be a valuable thing that he’s going to bring to the table, because he’s been there,” Clayton McWhorter said. “He’s been in the bushes for a long time.”

Joe Scarlett, founder of the Scarlett Leadership Institute, said companies adding a high-level executive is usually growing and “looking to beef up its breadth.” He added it’s important for the new addition to bring a skills set that complements the executives in place.

Matt King, managing partner of FCA Venture Partners, said Kloess’ addition is timely, as the fund has seen an increase of 30 percent to 40 percent in companies seeking funding over the past 18 months.

Altogether, Kloess has more than 30 years of health care leadership experience, including COO of American Pathology Resources, CEO of Centennial Medical Center and CEO of Conroe Regional Medical Center in Texas. He is also the immediate past president of theTennessee Hospital Association.

Stuart McWhorter said Kloess’ presence will allow him to spend more time with Brentwood-based Medical Reimbursements of America, of which he is co-founder, chairman and CEO.

“It’s not minimizing what I have at Clayton Associates, but they won’t need me there every day. One of the nice things about Larry joining Clayton is it does give me the ability to spend time (at MRA) if I need to. Having somebody with Larry’s experience come right in is going to be very valuable for us.”

Clayton’s next move?

Clayton McWhorter served as president and COO of HCA from 1985 until fall 1987, and also is a founding member of the Nashville Healthcare Council. Renowned for his entrepreneurship, McWhorter participated in the formation of HealthTrust in 1987, and founded PharmMD in 2008.

McWhorter, now chairman emeritus with Clayton Associates, was mum on his plans for the near future, although he did hint about continuing to work with new companies.

“I still get excited about some of these young entrepreneurs,” he said. “I don’t see myself going fishing or playing golf. I’ll be involved, but I won’t be hanging around every day, either.”

In addition to Council Capital, the Series C includes four existing investors: Clayton Associates of Nashville, Tenn., Council Operating Partner Linwood A. (Chip) Lacy, Jr., an additional strategic investor and Council & Enhanced Tennessee Fund, a TNInvestco fund affiliated with Council Capital. Four new investors in the round include Envest of Virginia Beach, Va. and three other TNInvestco funds – Nest-TN of Tullahoma, Tenn., Tennessee Angel Fund of Nashville, Tenn. (an affiliate of Nashville Capital Network) and Innova of Memphis, Tenn.

Terms of the merger agreement include a cash payment of approximately $28.0 million with the potential for additional consideration of up to $8.0 million, based on the achievement of certain business and financial milestones. The transaction is expected to close during Q3 2011.

Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Proxsys offers innovative services for care coordination, order transmission, referral management, hospital patient registration, and insurance pre-certification. Proxsys simplifies care transitions from physicians to their supply chain partners including: specialists, laboratories, imaging centers, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This results in improved quality of care and patient satisfaction, decreases in denied or delayed claims payments and bad debt, and increases efficiencies and revenue. Proxsys serves approximately 90 clients, including certain athenahealth enterprise hospital clients, representing approximately 8,000 physicians and 60,000 patient registrations every month.

“We have a vision for how health care information exchange ought to work, and Proxsys represents a critical element of achieving that vision,” said Jonathan Bush, CEO and Chairman of athenahealth. “This acquisition accelerates the launch of our new athenaCoordinator service, which facilitates the flow of information throughout the health care supply chain, improving care coordination for current and future clients. This service will be the latest piece of the national health information backbone we have been steadily constructing.”

AthenaHealth intends to fully integrate Proxsys and its service offerings onto athenaNet®, athenahealth’s centrally hosted, cloud-based service platform. This would enable athenahealth’s new athenaCoordinator service to move patients, with their clinical and insurance data, from the ordering provider to order recipients on a transaction fee basis. Hospitals would help drive the adoption of the athenaCoordinator service into affiliated practices to reduce costs and provide better control of patient care for both the hospital and the ordering provider. As ordering providers send more orders through athenaCoordinator, the company believes it will spur adoption of the athenaCoordinator service by other hospital systems in the community.

“There is a common cloud-based service model that supports both athenahealth and Proxsys. As we integrate our services, we expect to drive a level of efficiency, accuracy, and clarity in the health care supply chain that is not being realized today,” said George Salem, founder and President of Proxsys. “There is a tremendous amount of administrative pain, liability, cost waste, and redundancy that has been bottle-necking the flow of vital health information. In joining with athenahealth, we can support a broad marketplace for this information, making exchange easier for hospitals, providers, and patients.”

To read the AthenaHealth announcement in its entirety, please click here.
For additional information on AthenaHealth, please visit www.athenahealth.com.
For additional information on Proxsys, LLC, please visit www.proxsys.com.

See the official release below!