—Surgical Monitoring Associates, Inc. Joins SpecialtyCare—

NASHVILLE, Tenn. & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SpecialtyCare, the Nashville-based leading provider of clinical services to surgeons and hospitals, announces the acquisition of Surgical Monitoring Associates, Inc. (SMA) and Remote Neuromonitoring Physicians (RNP), Springfield, PA. SMA is among the oldest and most well respected private practices in intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, having provided the highest level of neuromonitoring service available since 1986. The purchase of SMA and RNP, both Philadelphia-based companies, was completed October 1, 2011, just one month after SpecialtyCare purchased Advanced Diagnostics Inc., a longstanding Northern California neuromonitoring group.

SMA is a leading provider of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) services serving more than 70 hospitals and surgical groups throughout the northeast. IONM plays a vital role in reducing post-operative neurologic complications by assisting surgeons in early identification of emerging injury to the central and peripheral nervous systems during complex brain, spine, orthopaedic, vascular, cardiovascular and ENT surgeries where there is heightened risk for neurologic deficit. SMA’s clinical professionals consist of fellowship-trained surgical neurophysiologists who are highly skilled both in the technical and interpretative aspects of neuromonitoring, thus facilitating real-time interpretation of data directly to the surgeon in the operating room. Almost all of SMA's neurophysiologists hold an advanced graduate degree in the allied health or biological sciences and 20 are Diplomats of the American Board of Neurophysiologic Monitoring (D.ABNM).

RNP is a growing physician group who supports SMA’s surgical neurophysiologists with expert medical consultation, and will continue on as both companies transition to SpecialtyCare.

“In identifying SpecialtyCare as the most compatible partner and successor to SMA and RNP, we found a multi-disciplinary health-care company that, like us, is committed to providing the highest level of educational preparation and training, clinical excellence and quality of service delivery. It is exactly this philosophical similarity which will allow SMA’s professional clinical staff to continue to be the leaders in the specialty field of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, as well as to maintain SMA’s reputation as the premier provider in neuromonitoring services to surgeons, hospitals, and patients in the Northeast for more than two decades,” said Dr. Daniel Schwartz, D.ABNM, SMA’s founder and one of the developing pioneers in the rapidly emerging specialty field of intraoperative neuromonitoring.

“SpecialtyCare is positioned as a national leader of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring. SMA’s unparalleled technical innovation, clinical leadership, and academic research will help pave the way toward wide-scale availability of superior neuromonitoring care. We are excited that Dr. Schwartz, a highly respected pioneer in this specialty field and certainly among its most prolific scientific and clinical contributors, will remain with SpecialtyCare as a vital component to the future of SpecialtyCare’s growing IONM services,” said Jim Lordeman, SpecialtyCare’s Executive Vice President of Strategic Development.

In addition to three acquisitions earlier this year, SpecialtyCare has seen growth through the addition of major provider contracts with hospitals and hospital systems; the company is committed to strengthening the services it provides to hospital operating rooms. “We believe that we have put the right infrastructure in place to support successful growth during a time when the healthcare industry is changing rapidly. That infrastructure includes a strong focus on quality processes, clinical education and training, and information systems. In order to support the goals of our hospital customers and affiliated physicians, we have to be in a position to help them reach new levels of efficiencies and outcomes,” said David Maloney, Executive Vice President of Administration and Chief Information Officer.

SpecialtyCare is the largest and most experienced provider of expert clinical services to hospitals including intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, perfusion, autotransfusion, minimally invasive surgical support, surgical assist, blood management, and other clinical services. With the addition of SMA, SpecialtyCare now serves more than 635 hospitals in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Germany.

Through focused attention on the delivery of specialized services in the operating room, coupled with a commitment to provide innovative flexible clinical solutions to the hospitals, physicians/surgeons, as well as the patients they each serve, SpecialtyCare continues to help shape standards for quality and efficiency in healthcare. SpecialtyCare employs more than 950 clinicians who support more than 300,000 surgical procedures annually.

About Surgical Monitoring Associates, Inc.

Established in 1986, Surgical Monitoring Associates (SMA) is among the oldest private practices within the specialty field of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM). Since inception, SMA has been at the forefront of the IONM field, and has achieved international acclaim for clinical excellence, innovation, research, and leadership. Unique to SMA is the team of professional level, fellowship-trained surgical neurophysiologists with expertise not only in the technical aspects of neuromonitoring, but also in the interpretation of neurophysiological monitoring data on-site in the operating room. SMA’s website is available at www.surgmon.com

About SpecialtyCare

SpecialtyCare is the largest provider of outsourced clinical services in the nation and is dedicated to assisting hospitals in their efforts to improve operational efficiencies, improve outcomes, and decrease blood utilization. SpecialtyCare provides highly specialized clinical services to the operating room and related areas of the hospital. Services include cardiovascular perfusion, autotransfusion, surgical assist, minimally invasive surgical support, sterile processing department management, intraoperative neurological monitoring, and anesthesia support. SpecialtyCare provides services to more than 635 hospitals in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Germany. SpecialtyCare’s website is available at www.specialtycare.net.

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CONTACT:

SpecialtyCare
Nancy Becker, 615-345-5400
PR@specialtycare.net

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Pennsylvania  Tennessee

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Surgery  Health  Hospitals  Mental Health  Other Health

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