Expands Anesthesia Presence, Administrative Infrastructure

American Anesthesiology, Inc., a subsidiary of Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:PDX), has completed the acquisition of Critical Health Systems of North Carolina, P.C., a physician group practice based in Raleigh with more than 250 anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists. The transaction brings the number of anesthesia providers practicing at American Anesthesiology to more than 450.

A total of 61 anesthesiologists and 191 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) provide services under CHS’ patient care team model at five acute-care hospitals, three ambulatory surgery centers and two pain management centers located throughout the growing Raleigh metropolitan area.

Physicians and nurse anesthetists provide anesthesia services at Rex Hospital, a 433-bed acute care facility that’s part of the University of North Carolina Health Care system, 186-bed Duke Raleigh Hospital, which is part of the Duke University Health System, two WakeMed system hospitals, including the 515-bed WakeMed Raleigh Campus and the 114-bed WakeMed Cary Hospital, and Wilson Medical Center, a 317-bed acute-care facility in Wilson, NC.

CHS also provides patient services at the WakeMed North Healthplex, Rex Surgery Center of Cary and Raleigh’s Blue Ridge Surgery Center, and staffs the Rex Pain Management Center and Duke Raleigh Hospital Pain Center.

“We’ve established a very attractive practice environment that has helped us to attract and retain talented clinical professionals, both anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists,” said Eric W. Mason, M.D., President of Critical Health Systems of North Carolina, who will serve as American Anesthesiology’s Medical Director in Raleigh. “Working with other groups that are part of American Anesthesiology, we’ll have the opportunity to collaborate, share clinical information and identify ways to improve patient care in the future. There are opportunities for us to expand within our community and as part of American Anesthesiology we can do so in ways that ensure that we maintain our focus on patient care.”

Critical Health Systems of North Carolina traces its patient services roots in Raleigh to the late 1960s. The practice was instrumental in forming the Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia in 1990, in collaboration with several Raleigh-area hospitals and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.