SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (USAP), the nation’s leading Anesthesia-focused physician services organization, today announced its newly formed partnership with Physicians Anesthesia Service (PAS), the largest group of anesthesiologists serving the Seattle, WA, metro area.
PAS has been providing quality anesthesia services to the Seattle community for over 40 years. The practice’s 120 anesthesia providers--many with sub-specialty training in cardiac, pediatric, regional anesthesia and intensive care medicine--provide anesthesia service ranging from care of the most medically complex inpatient to outpatients in ambulatory facilities.
Through their partnership with USAP, PAS physicians will retain local control over their clinical governance and operations, and continue to provide quality, patient-focused perioperative care services to the surgeons, facilities and communities they serve. PAS joins other high-performing practices that have found joining USAP enables them to remain clinically independent while becoming part of a larger organization built specifically to elevate the performance of anesthesia practices.
Dr. David Lavitt, CEO of PAS, views this new partnership as a unique opportunity.
“We at PAS are excited to join USAP. It is apparent USAP has been thoughtfully designed to create a culture of collaboration that builds trust and empowers clinicians to strive for excellence,” said Lavitt. “As USAP-Washington, we will have access to best anesthesia practices that will facilitate quality-based, data-driven care for our patients.
“This opportunity also goes beyond USAP’s IT infrastructure and business intelligence. It is a chance for us to be relevant in the evolving national dialogue as advocates for both patients and physicians. As governmental policies change and payer and facility affiliations evolve, anesthesiologists must be part of the discussion. As USAP-Washington, our voice will be heard. We gain these benefits while remaining a Washington-based practice and maintaining our clinical governance. We will continue to provide an exceptional customer experience and work to be the anesthesia practice of choice for healthcare facilities throughout the state - with the overriding vision that our patients are first and foremost in all we do.”
USAP CEO Kris Bratberg said that PAS fits well with USAP’s goal of building the premier anesthesia practice in the country.
“We are building a unique organization for the specialty of anesthesiology. Quality groups like PAS are seeking a partner that can provide them with the support, expertise and infrastructure needed to succeed in a very demanding environment,” said Bratberg. “By partnering with USAP, PAS will benefit from the significant investments USAP has made in infrastructure to support its practices and the high caliber business leadership team we have built.”
Dr. Richard Dutton, USAP Chief Quality Officer, said that USAP gives premier anesthesia practices the best of both worlds: the ability to shape the future of their specialty while remaining independent in their local decisions.
“Hospitals continue to require a more sophisticated level of service from their anesthesiology groups, in addition to high quality clinical care,” said Dutton. “Government payers are requiring increasingly robust data reporting to maintain current levels of reimbursement, and commercial payers will not be far behind. Affiliating with USAP gives top-tier practices a stronger voice at the table while allowing them, as USAP partners, to participate in the success of a larger organization.
“USAP represents the best opportunity for high performing anesthesia groups to strengthen their practices while retaining clinical independence,” Dutton said.
Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal counsel to USAP. BMO Capital Markets served as financial advisor to PAS and Garvey Schubert Barer provided legal counsel to PAS. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About U.S. Anesthesia Partners
USAP is a majority physician-owned, physician-services organization dedicated to providing high-quality anesthesia and pain management services. USAP partners with high quality groups of anesthesiologists, providing the capital resources, infrastructure and business expertise needed to position them for continued success. USAP’s physician partners maintain clinical governance of their practices and collectively own over 50 percent of USAP.
USAP’s affiliated physician groups share operational and clinical best practices, helping to facilitate the delivery of consistent, high quality services for patients, surgeons, facilities and payers. The company’s approximately 3,500 team members serve healthcare communities in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Nevada and Washington. USAP’s capital partner is Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, an investment firm with significant experience investing in and building leading healthcare companies. Visit http://www.usap.com to learn more.
