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Novant Health is a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system servingNorth and South Carolina. It consists of an 800-physician medical group andeight hospitals. MedQuest is a for-profit diagnostic imaging company thatowns and operates 92 outpatient centers in 13 states, two-thirds of which arelocated in the immediate five-state region of North Carolina, South Carolina,Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.
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MedQuest centers offer diagnostic imaging services, such as magneticresonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine,ultrasound, mammography, bone densitometry, fluoroscopy and x-ray. SomeMedQuest's centers are located in or near communities that Novant alreadyserves such as Charlotte, Concord, Fort Mill, Monroe, Mooresville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham and Wilmington.
"One of Novant's goals is to provide primary healthcare services closer towhere residents live," explained Paul Wiles, president and CEO of NovantHealth. "MedQuest centers have been achieving that same goal by deliveringexcellent service to patients and physicians."
MedQuest CEO, Chris Winkle, emphasized that both organizations have muchin common. "We have worked extremely hard to build a service-orientedcompany," said Winkle. "Novant also has the same passion for providing thebest experience possible for patients, families and doctors in their localcommunities."
Novant purchased MedQuest for $45 million, and immediately after thepurchase MedQuest will continue to have approximately $369 million of debtoutstanding. If MedQuest achieves agreed upon financial metrics during 2008,Novant will pay up to an additional $35 million. MedQuest will operate as awholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary of Novant Health, much like the PARTNERSHMO did in the 1990s. MedQuest's existing management team, which willparticipate in a portion of the compensation being paid to existingstockholders in the transaction (including the contingent portion), continuesto lead the company and there will be no immediate changes for MedQuestemployees or customers.
The leaders of the two organizations expect their merger to create severalmajor synergies, including integrating radiology images and reports with otherdiagnostic information in patient records in communities where both MedQuestcenters and Novant hospitals, physician practices and other services arelocated. The two companies believe that this integration will decreaseduplicative testing and improve continuity of patient care. MedQuest andNovant will also realize economies of scale and savings with respect tocomplex and costly information technology software and hardware required forstate-of-the-art diagnostic imaging centers.
"The savings we intend to achieve when we combine our resources will helpus meet other challenges, such as providing care for the poor and uninsured,building new community hospitals, expanding our crowded emergency rooms andinpatient units, and creating even better access to ambulatory services,"commented Wiles.
Novant Health is a not-for-profit integrated group of hospitals andphysician clinics, ranked as one of our nation's ten best healthcare systems.Novant staff cares for patients and communities in North and South Carolina.Hospital affiliates include Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian OrthopaedicHospital, Presbyterian Hospital Matthews and Presbyterian HospitalHuntersville in the Charlotte, NC area; Forsyth Medical Center and MedicalPark Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC; Thomasville Medical Center in Thomasville,NC; and Brunswick Community Hospital in Supply, NC.
