Briefs: Staffing firms bought; Cleveland strikes alliance

Here’s a look at some more recent headlines in the world of healthcare finance.

San Diego-based workforce management and staffing firm AMN Healthcare will buy OGH, a holding company that includes three companies tied to healthcare hiring and support services.

Under the acquisition, which is set to close in January, AMN takes over nurse and allied healthcare staffing firm Onward Healthcare, temporary (locum tenens) staffing company Locum Leaders and Medefis, a software as a service (Saas) company specializing in vendor management. The three companies combined report more than $110 million in revenue. [Release]

Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health last week struck an alliance deal with the Cleveland Clinic and will have exclusive access to cardiac patients in Texas and Oklahoma that have been referred by Cleveland’s Cardiovascular Specialty Network. [Release]

Cleveland Clinic is renowned for its cardiology program, and its extended network allows patients in other states to have their care directed by the clinic.

The alliance links Cleveland to the Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and the Heart Hospital Baylor Plano.

Northstar Anesthesia said it acquired a similar firm, North Carolina-based Anesthesia Management Solutions, for an undisclosed sum. Dallas-based Northstar said the deal expands its footprint to four new states in the Southeast and Midwest as it adds 20 new offices from the acquisition. Northstar, which partners with hospitals to manage their anesthesia care, said it now has 100 facilities in 18 states. [Release]

The market for breath analyzers could top more than $1.5 billion by 2019, a new report from research firm MarketsandMarkets suggests, as demand for the devices that detect blood-alcohol levels through breath surges among increased crackdowns on drunken driving.

The report claims the breath analyzers market was worth $479 million in 2014.

While North America and Europe represent the largest markets for these, the report says the Asia-Pacific will see significant growth amid strict government regulations and the rise in automobile use in the region. [Release]

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