CHICAGO (PRWEB) January 15, 2019 -- Ziegler, a specialty investment bank, is pleased to announce its role in advising Forefront TeleCare Inc. on its Series A funding with Spring Lake Equity Partners and the Ziegler Link●Age Fund.
Forefront was formed in 2010 with the goal of delivering high-quality behavioral telehealth to populations in rural geographies where care options are limited, such as skilled nursing facilities and rural hospitals. A troubling report by the Centers for Disease Control titled "The State of Mental Health and Aging in America" found that at least 20 percent of Americans over 55 years old experience a mental health problem every year. Additionally, according to U.S. Census data from 2016, 75 percent of rural counties do not have a psychiatrist. These grim realities signal that a solution like Forefront can make a significant positive impact, as it has already done in 20 states.
Forefront is a pioneer and U.S. leader in the delivery of behavioral health services via its unique HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform which incorporates software, hardware and comprehensive service protocols developed over years in the field. The Company’s national provider network of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and other behavioral health professionals work with Forefront to serve the behavioral health needs of clients and patients. Through flexible scheduling technology, logistics and management systems combined with deep behavioral health experience, Forefront is able to create solutions that effectively integrate with existing client systems and workflows.
"Today is what I call the era of 'mission-driven innovation' in healthcare. Forefront is one of the companies that truly views the technology-enabled care experience through the eyes of its patients, which was very appealing to me," said Rob Rebak, the newly appointed incoming CEO. "The company is laser-focused on helping some of the most vulnerable among us, our struggling seniors, to cope with challenges that those living in our cities also deal with - depression, anxiety, dementia and thoughts of suicide. In rural communities, these challenges are magnified significantly by the lack of relevant clinicians. I admire what Forefront has done to address these problems of access, quality, cost and integration, and am very excited to begin our next chapter."
The company plans to use the Series A investment to grow its nationwide network of telepsychiatry and related providers, further develop its HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform and expand into new states.
"We are delighted to welcome Rob Rebak to lead our company into the next stage of growth," said Merritt Widen and Phil Knudsen, co-founders of Forefront. "We couldn't be more proud of our entire team and angel investors who helped us navigate the pioneering stages of the telehealth industry. We appreciate the services of Ziegler corporate finance and the commitment from Spring Lake and the Ziegler Link●Age Fund to help us take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that lies before us."
"Forefront's talented team is focused on delivering its high-quality, cost-effective behavioral telehealth programs to more facilities and patients in need. We are proud to support this important mission and we are excited to add Rob Rebak to this talented and dedicated team," said Jeff Williams, partner at Spring Lake Equity Partners.
Mr. Rebak is a 25-year healthcare industry veteran and brings a broad range of strategic and operational experiences from Fortune 500 companies to early-stage ventures within the life science, HCIT and digital health industries. Prior to Forefront, he was president and CEO of AbleTo, a behavioral telehealth platform, and CEO and chairman of QualityHealth, a digital patient acquisition and engagement platform. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rebak held leadership and commercial positions at Pfizer, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
The Ziegler team, comprised of lead banker Grant Chamberlain with support from Adam Heller, Jenny Poth, Matt Schappell, and Danny Coran, prepared Forefront for the investment process, marketed the Company to potential investors and ultimately advised on and facilitated the raise with Spring Lake Equity Partners and the Ziegler Link●Age Fund.
Grant Chamberlain, Managing Director in Ziegler's Corporate Finance Healthcare practice, commented, “There is a significant need in today’s healthcare for appropriate access to behavioral health providers. Unfortunately, the shortage in behavioral health providers across the U.S. leaves many in need of behavioral health services without the access to necessary care, especially in rural settings. As one of the leading provider of telepsychiatry for skilled nursing facilities, Forefront’s platform allows for some of the most marginalized patients to be seen in a timely manner, receive the appropriate care, and reduce unnecessary co-morbidity complications. Through this new partnership with Spring Lake Equity Partners and Ziegler Link●Age, Forefront will be able to continue to make drastic strides in providing behavioral healthcare to those in need across the U.S.”
Ziegler's Corporate Finance practice is focused on delivering best-in-class advisory and financing solutions for companies and organizations across the healthcare industry. In our core practice areas of healthcare services, information technology, hospitals and senior living, Ziegler is one of the most active M&A firms offering innovative sell-side, buy-side, recapitalization/restructuring, equity private placement and strategic partnering services.
For more information about Ziegler, please visit us at http://www.Ziegler.com.
About Ziegler:
Ziegler is a privately held investment bank, capital markets, wealth management and proprietary investments firm, founded in 1902. Ziegler is ranked No. 1 in the country in healthcare/senior living underwriters by issuance and No. 4 by par amount (Thomson Reuters, 2016), and is ranked in the top 20 municipal underwriters in the country by volume (Bloomberg, 2016). Specializing in the healthcare, senior living, education and religion sectors, as well as general municipal and structured finance, enables Ziegler to generate a positive impact on the communities it serves. Headquartered in Chicago with regional and branch offices throughout the United States, Ziegler provides its clients with capital raising, strategic advisory services, equity and fixed income sales & trading, wealth management and research. To learn more, visit http://www.ziegler.com.
Certain comments in this news release represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This client’s experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, nor is it indicative of future performance or success. The forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties, in particular, the overall financial health of the securities industry, the strength of the healthcare sector of the U.S. economy and the municipal securities marketplace, the ability of the Company to underwrite and distribute securities, the market value of mutual fund portfolios and separate account portfolios advised by the Company, the volume of sales by its retail brokers, the outcome of pending litigation, and the ability to attract and retain qualified employees.
# # #
Christine McCarty, Ziegler, http://www.ziegler.com, 3125961617, cmccarty@ziegler.com
Share this article