Avel eCare Acquires Hospitalist Telemedicine Provider 'Horizon Virtual'

Latest acquisition further advances Avel's leadership in telemedicine by enhancing its ability to support hospitals and health systems nationwide with its acute inpatient model

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Avel eCare, the nation's leading provider of clinician-to-clinician telemedicine services, continues to expand its nationwide leadership in telemedicine with the acquisition of Horizon Virtual, a Minnesota-based virtual hospitalist services provider. The deal marks Avel's 3rd acquisition in just over a year as the company continues its aggressive growth strategy into 2024. 

"In line with our mission to ensure that communities and patients receive the highest level of care to drive improved outcomes, we continue to expand our presence across the U.S. and ability to impact markets through product innovation, organic growth, and strategic acquisitions. Acquiring Horizon Virtual represents an exciting opportunity to augment our hospitalist services, which remains one of our fastest-growing service lines," said Doug Duskin, CEO of Avel eCare. 

"This is a great strategic fit for Horizon Virtual. After more than seven years of working with critical access hospitals and medical facilities in Minnesota to help address staffing challenges and provide the appropriate physician coverage in their hospitalist areas, we can now offer our customers solutions that address multiple areas within their hospitals while continuing to provide the same world-class virtual care. It has been an honor and will continue to be my desire to serve our customers and help alleviate staffing shortages and physician burnout as it has enabled more patients to remain in their local communities near friends and family support," says Darin Willardsen, the CEO of Horizon Virtual. 

Dr. Willardsen will serve as Vice President of Provider Relations and Strategic Partnership at Avel. He will partner with Avel's leadership team to develop strategies for pioneering new markets and competitive opportunities that allow the company to meet the healthcare industry's needs and serve as a provider onboarding liaison across all service lines.

Dr. Todd Severnak will serve as the Medical Director for the combined Hospitalist service at Avel. In this role he will lead a dedicated and experienced team of hospitalists, delivering care to hospitals across the United States.

"I am excited to have both Dr. Severnak and Dr. Willardsen join the Avel team. I believe they will be valuable partners within our organization, helping us achieve our goals and service the needs of our customers," Duskin added.

Available 24/7, Avel eCare's board-certified hospitalists and registered nurses become part of the local medical staff, partnering with bedside teams on-site to deliver and coordinate care. Avel provides its customers with technology workflows through its proprietary software making it easy to connect with Avel's virtual hospital team to ensure patients receive high-quality care.

Horizon Virtual's highly skilled team of internal medicine hospitalists will further enhance Avel's robust network of doctors, nurses, and clinicians, which grew just last September with the purchase of Texas-based virtual hospitalist provider Fident Health. In January 2023, Avel also acquired remote pharmacy services provider NightWatch. Today, Avel serves hundreds of customers across the country with a variety of solutions and care delivery models. 

For more information on Avel eCare's telemedicine services, visit www.avelecare.com. 

About Avel eCare
Avel eCare offers the largest and most comprehensive virtual health network in the world, partnering with hospitals, health systems, government entities, schools, senior care communities, and law enforcement and EMS agencies around the country. For more than 30 years, Avel has harnessed the power of its technology-enabled workflows and the strength of its clinical expertise to deliver high-quality virtual care impacting millions of patients. Avel eCare services include behavioral health, crisis care, emergency, EMS, critical care, pharmacy, hospitalist, senior care, school health, specialty clinic, virtual nursing, and more. To learn more, visit: www.avelecare.com

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Lauren Bieke
eMedia Junction
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SOURCE Avel eCare