Advanced ICU Care Raises $5 Million in Funding

For more information, contact:
Donya Hengehold
(314) 276-4995

For immediate release

ST. LOUIS (June 24, 2008) –Advanced ICU Care, a medical services company delivering board-certified intensivists and nurses to hospital ICU patients using telemedicine technology, today announced that it has closed on a $5 million series B funding round.  The funding will be used to support the company’s continued growth.

The investment round was led by Versant Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm located in Menlo Park, California. Other participants include existing investors Catalyst Capital Management (a private investment firm located in Chicago), Arboretum Ventures (a venture capital firm located in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and individual investors. In addition to the financing, Advanced ICU Care announced that Barbara Lubash, managing director of Versant Ventures, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.

“Through our program, we are uniquely positioned to provide intensivist services to hospitals that otherwise would not have access to this level of care,” said Mary Jo Gorman, M.D., MBA, chief executive officer of Advanced ICU Care. “This second round of financing will help us continue to expand our services to additional hospitals across the country, improving access to intensivists and enhancing patient care and safety. Additionally, Barbara brings tremendous expertise to our Board and will be instrumental in helping guide our future growth.”

Advanced ICU Care’s program utilizes eICU® telemedicine technology, which allows the company’s intensivists and critical care nurses to monitor hospital ICU patients from its eICU operations center in St. Louis.  Founded to improve access to critical care expertise, Advanced ICU Care was the first private group to bring intensivists to hospitals through eICU technology. The company now delivers its program to nearly 100 ICU beds located in 10 hospitals across five states. 

“Advanced ICU Care is an innovative company addressing a very large market with life-saving services,” said Lubash. “There is convincing evidence of improved patient care and economic value of Advanced ICU Care's ‘tele-intensivist’ model to patients, hospitals and physicians. We are impressed with Advanced ICU Care’s experienced leadership, top-tier physician team, and its potential to redefine critical care for small and mid-size hospitals."

With only 8,100 intensivists serving 4.4 million ICU patients, the U.S. is facing a pronounced shortage of these specialized physicians.  Less than one in five ICUs is staffed by intensivists, despite studies showing that intensivist-directed care reduces the risk of ICU deaths by 40%.   Hospitals using tele-intensivist programs are seeing similar results: analysis of severity-adjusted data from 156 hospital ICUs supported by eICU technology showed a 29% decrease in ICU patient mortality.

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About Advanced ICU Care
Advanced ICU Care® (www.icumedicine.com) is a medical service company that provides high-quality remote critical care to patients in the intensive care units (ICU) of community hospitals. Through experienced clinicians, supported by cutting-edge telemedicine technology, and a process improvement program, Advanced ICU Care provides 24/7 ICU patient monitoring and improved care and safety outcomes to critically ill patients across the country.  Hospital ICUs are linked with Advanced ICU Care’s eICU® Operations Center in St. Louis, Missouri through a technology platform developed by VISICU, allowing Advanced ICU Care’s board-certified intensivists and critical care nurses to monitor hospital ICU patients from a central location.

About Versant Ventures
Versant Ventures (www.versantventures.com) is a leading healthcare-focused venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments in medical devices, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, and healthcare information technology.