Press Release Details
For More Information, Contact:
Lisa DeMoss
Director, Marketing and Communications
(615) 261-1716
ldemoss@spheris.com
For Immediate Release
Investors Bring Benefits to Spheris Customers and Employees
Franklin, Tennessee — November 09, 2004 — The recapitalization of Spheris by Warburg Pincus and Soros Private Equity Investors LP brings benefits to both customers and employees, according to Steven E. Simpson, Spheris president and CEO.“This transaction will be a tremendous benefit to both Spheris customers and employees,” Simpson said. “Because the existing management will lead the company forward and there will be no changes to existing operations, there will be no disruptive transitional issues that are sometimes possible with an ownership change. At the same time, the new investors bring capital that will enable us to continue to invest in our infrastructure, pursue strategic relationships and broaden our product and service offerings. This access to additional capital will result in continuous improvement in serving our customers and opportunities for growth and advancement for our employees.”
Customers to Benefit from Product Development, Relationships
Spheris customers will see the Spheris offering continue to improve and broaden, said Spheris Executive Vice President of Account Services and Implementation, Jay Cannon.
“Our existing technology platform already allows us to serve customers from virtually any healthcare organization in an efficient and effective manner,” Cannon explained. “Our new owners will enable us to invest even more in our infrastructure, so clients will see more enhancements to our offering and with greater frequency. At the same time, we'll have the people on board to back up the technology with best- in-class service.”
Spheris Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development Jim Panoff says the new investors will help Spheris further differentiate itself from the competition.
“Our medical transcription technology and services offerings already enable Spheris to lead the industry,” Panoff explained. “The new investors will truly take the company to the next level. Our core services will continue to advance at a rapid pace. We'll also enter into strategic relationships with related technology and services organizations that will broaden our offering to provide more choice and added value to our customers. These advantages will enable us to further differentiate ourselves from others in the industry.”
Employees to Benefit from Increased Career Opportunities
Spheris Chief Operating Officer, Antoine Abdallah, says the new investors will enable Spheris to remain an employer of choice for professional medical transcriptionists.
”Our 3,600 employees – many of them professional medical transcriptionists working from home – are the reason for our success,' Abdallah explained. “We understand that. We also understand that competition for highly skilled domestic medical transcriptionists will only intensify. Our new investors will enable us to continue our rapid growth, which creates opportunities for everyone. And, we'll be able to continue to invest in developing the best medical transcriptionist workforce in the country. Our transcriptionists will receive enhanced continuing education, so they can hone existing skills or develop new ones. We will continue to create an environment where talented professionals come to build a career.” Abdallah added, ”This recapitalization will not effect our day-to-day
operations other than simply to create more demand for qualified MTs. Now, more than ever before, I want to strongly encourage our workforce to recruit Spheris MTs through our Refer-A-Friend program.
About Spheris Spheris is a leading provider of clinical documentation services and technology to health systems, hospitals and group practices throughout the U.S. Founded by physicians in 1993, Spheris employs a global network of medical language specialists for true 24-hour service, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The proprietary Spheris Clarity™ technology platform integrates the full range of clinical documentation software and hardware into one seamless, customizable system, including embedded speech recognition technologies. The Spheris solution is flexible and scalable to balance the needs of HIM directors, CFOs, IT directors and physicians with an emphasis on verifiable quality, turnaround time, security and pricing. Spheris' worldwide corporate headquarters is located in Franklin, Tenn. For more information, please visit www.spheris.com.