Health Essentials Receives Investment in Post-Acute Care Companies to Drive Future Growth

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health Essentials, a leading provider of post-acute care management services, today announced that it has received a growth capital investment from SV Life Sciences and Bessemer Venture Partners. The growth capital will be used to continue expansion of services and geographies covered, while integrating and upgrading systems and infrastructure to further enhance the coordination of care for the most medically complex and at-risk patients.

“The frail elderly need the care coordination now more than ever, so we are excited to team with experienced, high-quality financial partners who will allow us to further expand our vision.”

“Since 1996, our mission has always been to revolutionize the post-acute continuum of care and help the most vulnerable of our communities stay safely at home,” said Kim Phan, CEO and co-founder of Health Essentials. “The frail elderly need the care coordination now more than ever, so we are excited to team with experienced, high-quality financial partners who will allow us to further expand our vision.”

Health Essentials, and its affiliates, offers comprehensive clinical services in over 250 skilled nursing facilities, seven Medicare-certified hospices, and DME and pharmacy services. Partnering primarily with delegated capitated medical groups and health plans in California, Nevada and Arizona, Health Essentials also works with hospitals seeking to manage readmissions to avoid financial penalties and Medicaid managed care organizations who are now taking on responsibility for the dual eligible and frail seniors for the first time.

"SV Life Sciences has a long track record of backing successful post-acute services companies,” said Tom Flynn, partner at SV Life Sciences. “As the health care system begins to migrate away from volume-driven fee-for-service arrangements towards outcomes-driven models, we believe that Health Essentials and its team are uniquely positioned to deliver value in this environment."

“We have long believed in the power of care coordination to improve the quality and decrease the cost of healthcare delivered in our country,” said Stephen Kraus, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “For the past couple of years, we have been looking actively for an investment in this area and so we are thrilled to be partnering with the Health Essentials team. We look forward to working with them to build an industry leading company.”

The Health Essentials team recently brought on two management professionals with a wealth of combined experience in healthcare services and managed care: Alan Hoops as Executive Chairman and Les Granow as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hoops comes to Health Essentials most recently after serving six years as Chairman and CEO of CareMore, a provider of Medicare Advantage Plans and Special Need Plans designed for the chronically ill.

About Health Essentials

Health Essentials (HESS), and its affiliates, GeriNet Medical Associates, Gerinet Healthcare, Hospice Touch Inc., Comfort Rx and Health Essentials DME, is a physician-driven care management company that delivers high quality post-acute care to the frail and elderly population in California, Nevada and Arizona. HESS is a single source for post-acute clinical services, currently covering over 250 skilled nursing facilities. With seven Medicare-certified hospices and DME and pharmacy services, HESS is uniquely configured to engage with patients and their families, coordinate their care, drive quality outcomes and decrease total cost of healthcare across the continuum of care. For more information, please visit www.healthessentials.com.

About SV Life Sciences

SV Life Sciences (“SVLS”) is a leading international life sciences venture capital firm. SVLS affiliated funds have been investing in life sciences companies since the early 1980s and formed its first dedicated life sciences fund in 1994. SVLS currently manages five venture capital funds with approximately $2.0 billion of capital commitments. SVLS employs a diversified strategy within life sciences in order to selectively capitalize on an expanding opportunity in biotech, medical devices and healthcare services. SVLS has offices in Boston, London and San Francisco. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.svlsa.com.

About Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is a global venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Cambridge, Mass., New York, Mumbai and Herzliya, Israel. One of the oldest venture capital practices in the United States, BVP manages more than $4 billion of capital and has partnered as an active, hands-on investor in Yelp, LinkedIn, Allscripts, Skype, Ciena, IPC The Hospitalist Company, Celtel, Blue Nile, Staples, VistaCare, and VeriSign. More than 100 BVP-funded companies have gone public. Learn more at www.bvp.com.