Masimo expands corporate headquarters

Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced the expansion of its Irvine, California headquarters with the addition of an adjacent 32,000 sq. ft. building--the company's third building at its corporate campus. Expanding its corporate headquarters is a natural progression for Masimo, which continues to post double-digit growth increases. The company hosted an open house on Thursday, December 24th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., to celebrate the new building and the launch of the Masimo Health Care and Wellness Program.

The expansion is further proof that, despite a slumping U.S. economy, Masimo continues to buck national economic trends, reporting product revenue growth of 17% during the first nine months of 2009 compared to the first nine months of 2008. The new building is expected to house more than 200 employees, many of which the company anticipates adding to its engineering, sales, and administrative functions in 2010 to accommodate the growing demand for its breakthrough medical technologies, including the expansion of its Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry and new Acoustic Monitoring business.

Today, Masimo SET, the "Gold Standard" in pulse oximetry, is at work in the world's most demanding hospitals, with more than half of the top U.S. hospitals--including four of the top five, as listed on the US News & World Report Honor Roll--adopting Masimo SET as their primary pulse oximetry platform. This year alone, more than 150 hospitals throughout the world have converted to Masimo's advanced pulse oximetry technology.

In addition to celebrating the expansion of its corporate campus, Masimo employees also celebrated the unveiling of a new 2010 Masimo Wellness Plan--an employee-controlled healthcare solution designed to promote wellness and incentivize employees to lead healthy lifestyles. The plan provides the umbrella protection and safety net of a traditional PPO health insurance plan with 100% coverage for preventative care--making it easier and more cost-effective for employees to get routine physicals, annual exams, wellness check-ups and immunizations to stay healthy.

"Over the last year, U.S. healthcare reform has taken center stage. And, as a medical technology innovator on the forefront of improving care and safety for patients, we at Masimo understand just how crucial it is for our nation to get healthcare right," explained Masimo Founder and CEO Joe Kiani. "We know that millions of Americans are depending on it, and billions of people around the world are watching us! That's why we have been an active member in both local/community and national discussions concerning healthcare reform in America. We felt a duty to represent the 'patient care' side of the healthcare story and doing so allowed us to learn best practices from the nation's most forward-thinking organizations."

Kiani explained that what struck Masimo about what these forward-thinking organizations were doing was that they were building insurance plans that put more control and responsibility in the hands of their employees.

"They allowed their employees to navigate and chart their own course to better health--leading the charge for healthcare reform within their own organizations while lowering its costs," Kiani added. "This inspired us to 'do what is best for patient care,' starting with our own employees!"

Masimo believes that these efforts will pay off by helping to improve the health of its employees and by reducing the immediate and long-term costs for the company and its employees. For example, the total cost of our U.S. group insurance benefits in 2009 was in excess of $6 million, and was expected to rise further in 2010. According to Kiani, the decision to implement a comprehensive Wellness Plan will allow Masimo to keep its costs flat for 2010 and will likely reduce costs for future years.

The company is so convinced that healthier people mean a healthier company that it is planning on putting money on it with a new Wellness Rewards Program slated to begin in 2011. Under the program, employees will earn cash rewards for reaching optimal health goals, like maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI), keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels in normal ranges, even smoking cessation. The company believes that incentivizing employees to "shape up and save" will not only lead to healthier bodies and lifestyles, but healthier minds and savings too.

"We're excited to be in a position to spread this sort of holiday cheer this year. For many businesses, the prospect of growth within the current economy is a far stretch," Kiani concluded. "Yet, thankfully for us, our unique technology and product offerings allow us to benefit from market demand and expansion opportunities that make growth a reality that we are actively planning for despite the many obstacles. I am grateful that we are able to provide the lifesaving and life-changing medical technologies that clinicians and patients all over the world depend on, and the job growth and employment opportunities that our economy needs."