HFS Consultants Celebrates 20 Years In Business and Looks at the Future of Healthcare Consulting

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HFS Consultants (HFS), http://www.hfsconsultants.com, which provides a broad range of essential healthcare financial and management solutions to hospitals and other health care facilities, marks its 20th year in business this month and is looking ahead at the next 20 years.

The company was founded in 1991 by Richard Gianello, Steven Rousso, and John Pfeiffer after the CPA firm they worked for went out of business. They continue to head up the business today with Gianello, president; Rousso, senior principal; and Pfeiffer, principal and director of reimbursement services and financial management.

The HFS team obtained its first clients by visiting hospital executives from the San Francisco Bay Area to Bakersfield and offering its expertise in financial feasibility studies. All the hospitals visited in 1991 eventually became clients, and those that are still in operation today remain as clients.

The company currently has 90 employees with headquarters in Oakland, California and branch offices in Fresno, Glendale, Poway and Santa Ana, California. Company revenue is approximately $14 million.

"We would like to grow the company to $50 million in the next six to seven years," says Gianello. "There's definitely opportunity for growth in the health care industry."

Looking to the future, some of those growth areas include:

• The formation of accountable care organizations (ACOs). ACOs are a network of doctors and hospitals that shares responsibility for providing patient care. An ACO would be legally required to manage all health care needs for a minimum of 5,000 Medicare beneficiaries for at least three years. The formation of ACOs will require HFS's expertise in financial management, financial feasibility, management and operations consulting and clinical operations.
• The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes. The U.S. remains the only developed nation in the world still using ICD-9, a statistical classification for morbidity data and Medicare and Medicaid claims. On October 1, 2013, the billing and payment system of every healthcare provider and healthcare payer organization in the U.S. must use ICD-10 codes.  HFS is already set to assist organizations to make the transition by providing consultation and direction.
• Seismic Requirements for California hospitals. All California hospitals are mandated to comply with seismic retrofitting requirements by 2030. While 80 percent of hospitals are reportedly on track to be retrofitted by 2015, others will have difficulty complying because of financial reasons. HFS is currently retained in this area to conduct capital planning and financial feasibility studies and anticipates continued growth.

About HFS Consultants

HFS Consultants offers a broad range of services focused on the needs of hospitals and other healthcare facilities for financial, strategic, clinical and management operations. It specializes in assisting healthcare facilities position themselves for organizational and competitive change and growth.  Clients include: Oakland Children's Hospital, Alameda County Hospital, St. Rose Hospital, Natividad Medical Center, Community Memorial Hospital System, Northbay Healthcare System and Kaiser.

For more information, visit http://www.hfsconsultants.com

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John Pfeiffer

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Steven Rousso

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Richard A. Gianello

SOURCE HFS Consultants