HealthEdge Kicks Off Fund III With Two Platform Investments

TAMPA, Fla., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC ("HealthEdge") is off to a quick start with its third fund, HealthEdge Investment Fund III L.P. ("Fund III"), completing two platform acquisitions in less than a year of activity. Since holding a first closing on Fund III in June 2016, the Florida-based private equity firm, which focuses exclusively on lower middle market healthcare businesses, completed investments in The Columbus Organization ("Columbus") in December 2016 and Central Florida Inpatient Medicine ("CFIM") in March 2017.

"Cost containment and improved outcomes are major driving forces in the current healthcare landscape, both of which are core to Columbus' and CFIM's service offerings. We are excited to partner with two businesses that are recognized leaders within their respective markets and that can benefit from our value-added operational approach," commented HealthEdge Managing Partner and Co-Founder Phil Dingle.

Columbus is the nation's leading provider of on-site case management, professional staffing, and consultative services, focusing exclusively on agencies that serve individuals with special needs. Since 1984, the company has assisted more than 140 state and local agencies in over 40 states and the District of Columbia to help solve staffing and programmatic problems. Many of these agencies faced challenging regulatory, certification, and litigation issues. Columbus consistently improves outcomes within identified timeframes and fiscal parameters.

According to Richard Ronder, former Chief Executive Officer of Columbus, said, "It was important to our leaders that we align ourselves with a team that could enhance our operations and service model, and we are confident that joining forces with HealthEdge ensures our ability to continue to provide best-in-class services to both new and existing customers." Mr. Ronder will assume the role of board Chairman and remains an owner of the Company.

CFIM is one of the largest private hospitalist groups in the state of Florida and the largest in the central Florida marketplace. The company's physicians and other healthcare practitioners fill a critical role in medicine, caring for patients in both acute and post-acute settings and working to improve quality and clinical outcomes by creating efficiencies throughout the continuum of care. CFIM currently utilizes over 100 medical doctors and nurse practitioners across nearly 50 area hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. HealthEdge's investment, in partnership with CFIM co-founder and CEO Dr. Krishan Nagda, provides CFIM with a solid foundation to continue building a leading hospitalist provider via acquisitions and organic expansion.

According to Dr. Nagda, "Having already built our business into the market leader in central Florida, our goal was to align ourselves with an investment fund that could bring both financial backing and other strategic, operational, and management expertise to help guide our company. We are confident that our new partnership with HealthEdge solidifies our ability to continue expanding into new facilities and geographies, ensuring that we invest in quality improvements and provide outstanding care for our patients." In addition to continuing his role as the company's CEO, Dr. Nagda has joined the Board of Directors.

Over the next several years, HealthEdge will seek to invest in another six to eight businesses as it builds the Fund III portfolio, generally focusing on companies with revenues between $5 to $75 million. "We are delighted with the investment pace achieved thus far in Fund III," commented Scott Heberlein, Partner of HealthEdge. "Positioned as one of the few private equity firms focused on lower middle market healthcare in our region, combined with a market presence that now spans over a decade, has afforded us with attractive deal flow." HealthEdge's target sectors within healthcare include products and devices, distribution and other third party services, selected providers of care, and business to business services.

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS ORGANIZATION

The Columbus Organization's founding mission is to make a difference in the lives of people with special needs, and its guiding principle has been to provide high-quality services in a manner that maintains the dignity and privacy of the consumers and families served.  Columbus' professionals have extensive expertise in clinical practice, recruiting professional staff, clinical research, staff training, forensic issues, litigation issues, and developing policies and procedures for agencies servicing individuals with special needs. For more information on Columbus, visit www.columbusorg.com.

ABOUT CFIM

Central Florida Inpatient Medicine was founded in 2001 with two physicians covering local hospitals. Today, CFIM has grown to be the largest independent hospitalist group in central Florida. The company utilizes over 100 medical doctors and nurse practitioners serving patients in Orlando area hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other post-acute settings. CFIM's growth has been driven by its mission of providing the highest quality inpatient care in the most efficient manner. CFIM is a subsidiary of Spectrum Medical Partners, Inc., a practice management organization formed by HealthEdge and the shareholders of CFIM to invest in and acquire leading hospitalist businesses. For more information on CFIM, visit www.cflim.com.

ABOUT HEALTHEDGE

HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC is an operating-oriented private equity firm founded in 2005 that focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry. HealthEdge seeks to achieve superior returns by investing in businesses that benefit from the knowledge, experience, and network of relationships of its partners. HealthEdge's partners have more than 100 years of combined operating experience in healthcare as CEOs and investors. For more information on HealthEdge, please visit www.healthedgepartners.com.

For more information on HealthEdge, please contact:

Brian W. Anderson, Managing Partner

Phillip S. Dingle, Managing Partner

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SOURCE HealthEdge Investment Partners