Avatar International Acquired by The Riverside Company

ORLANDO, Fla. – (Sept. 7, 2011) – Avatar International announced today that it has been acquired by The Riverside Company, a move that will enable the healthcare quality improvement firm to expand its offerings to current and future health system partners. Avatar’s existing management team will continue to lead the business.

Terms of the transaction between Riverside, a global private equity firm, and Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), which acquired Avatar in 2008, were not disclosed.

“VSS was a great partner, helping to create the organic growth that allowed Avatar to emerge as a leading provider of customized surveys and process improvement services keenly focused on the patient experience,” said Avatar CEO David Medvedeff, PharmD, MBA. “We expect that growth to continue under the umbrella of The Riverside Company, which shares our passion and commitment to empower a more patient-centered healthcare system.”

As part of VSS, a leading global private investment firm focused on the information, education, media, communications and business services industries, Avatar experienced impressive growth. Additionally, it significantly broadened its product and service offerings, established several key strategic partnerships and created a research and quality department.

Today, Avatar (www.avatar-intl.com) serves more than 400 hospitals within more than 20 health systems, 120 facilities representing 14,000 physicians and 120 home health agencies. It is the industry’s only third-party, HIPAA-certified patient experience vendor, and provides clients with data that tracks a patient’s journey from admission to discharge. Avatar is also on the approved vendor list for administering the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital and Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey.

Riverside (www.riversidecompany.com), which partners with strong management teams and enhances its investments through acquisitions and organic growth, was attracted to Avatar for its distinctive products and compelling value proposition. It intends to work with Avatar’s management team to grow the company by capturing new clients, deepening existing relationships, and expanding Avatar’s services, including among non-hospital providers such as physician groups and home health agencies. The team also plans to continue enhancing existing Avatar products.

About Avatar International

Avatar International (www.avatar-intl.com), a research and consulting company based in Orlando, Fla., specializes in Evidence Based Intelligent Surveys™ and Innovative Strategies™ to transform information into significant quality and efficiency of care improvement for the healthcare industry. In addition to conducting surveys, Avatar also actively engages healthcare providers in process improvements, including training in service quality.  Avatar serves healthcare organizations nationally, including small community hospitals, academic medical centers, large regional medical centers, integrated healthcare systems, long-term care and behavioral health organizations. Avatar International can be reached at 1-800-282-8274.