MEDNAX acquires pediatric hospitalist group practice in San Antonio

MEDNAX, Inc. (NYSE: MD) today announced the acquisition of a pediatric hospitalist group practice based in San Antonio, TX.

“Our practice is excited to be joining Pediatrix in response to the increasing demand and growing need for pediatric hospital-based services in our community”

UltraHealthCare, P.A., consists of six hospital-based pediatric care physicians and one pediatric nurse practitioner who provide support for both newborn and pediatric patients at Methodist Children's Hospital of South Texas in San Antonio. The group will practice as part of MEDNAX's Pediatrix Medical Group.

Pediatric hospitalists are hospital-based pediatricians who provide specialized care for patients ranging from newborns to children through the age of 18 years, particularly in the areas of labor and delivery, emergency room services, as well as the nursery and pediatric department, where immediate accessibility to specialized care for children may be critical.

Pediatrix Medical Group is a national group practice that comprises the nation's leading provider of neonatal, maternal-fetal medicine and pediatric cardiology physicians, as well as other pediatric subspecialists. There are currently more than 35 pediatric hospitalist physicians who are part of the Pediatrix group that provide inpatient care and management of acutely ill children in hospitals throughout the U.S.

"Our practice is excited to be joining Pediatrix in response to the increasing demand and growing need for pediatric hospital-based services in our community," said Ellen Sutherland, M.D., who will serve as Pediatrix's medical director for the practice. "We believe that our practice has reached a point where it will be highly beneficial to our patients and to the services we provide, to have the administrative support of a large national physician group that will help us grow. We'll also be able to collaborate with other hospital-based physicians throughout the country and participate in clinical quality programs to help ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients."

MEDNAX paid cash for the practice, and the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to its earnings. No additional terms of the transaction were disclosed.

Through its Pediatrix Medical Group division, MEDNAX provides a continuum of specialty care services to families throughout the San Antonio region, which includes neonatal, maternal-fetal medicine and pediatric cardiology services at hospitals such as Methodist Children's Hospital of South Texas, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital and Baptist Medical Center, amongst several others.

With this acquisition, 13 physician group practices have become part of Pediatrix Medical Group and American Anesthesiology during 2010.