Mallinckrodt Announces FY99 Milestone; Network Established for Alternate Care Products
Mallinckrodt Inc, St Louis, has announced that oximetry module shipments for its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business topped 50,000 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999—a first in the company’s history. In addition, the company has established a national network of independent manufacturers’ representatives for its portfolio of alternate care products.

The Nellcor® oximetry OEM business has added several new accounts in fiscal year 1999 that will incorporate Nellcor oximetry in such platforms as acoustic diagnostic equipment and telemedicine devices.

“At its core, oximetry is about patient safety. To be gaining share in this competitive field means the industry and end users place a high value on patient safety, as we do,” says Doris Engibous, Mallinckrodt’s vice president of oximetry. “In addition to exceptional products, our industrial customers also expect excellence in on-time deliveries, engineering support, and reliability that a financially solid and stable partner like Mallinckrodt provides.”

The MP304 OEM module offers customers access to patented Nellcor Oxismart® Advanced Signal Processing and Alarm Management Technology. The newly released MP404 utilizes adaptive filtering to find true physiological signals in difficult periods of patient motion.

In other news, Mallinckrodt announced the establishment of a national network of independent manufacturers’ representatives for its alternate care products. The company’s alternate care business is a consolidation of many respiratory care products and technologies, including Puritan Bennett ventilators, oxygen therapy, sleep, asthma management, and gas products; Shiley tracheostomy products; Nellcor pulse oximetry sensors and monitors; and DAR breathing systems.

“The addition of approximately 30 independent manufacturers’ representatives to supplement our direct sales organization means we will be able to provide greater coverage in the marketplace,” says Gerald R. Mattys, vice president and general manager of Mallinckrodt’s alternate care business. “With an annual growth rate of more than 10% in the overall alternate care market, it is important that we provide the resources to meet our customers’ needs for service and training. We are also interested in growing with this strong and important market and know we have the products to help our customers make a positive and essential contribution to improving health care for respiratory patients at home.”

The Mallinckrodt alternate care sales team is organized into five regions, each headed by a regional manager responsible for independent representatives and the direct sales force. The direct sales force will be responsible for servicing the larger metropolitan areas throughout the United States, while the independent representatives cover all other areas. (800) 635-5267; www.mallinckrodt.com.

Respironics Names New President/CEO; and Amends Vital Signs Agreement
Respironics Inc, Pittsburgh, has named James W. Liken as president and CEO. The company also announced an amendment to a supply agreement with Vital Signs Inc, Totowa, NJ.

Liken will succeed Dennis S. Meteny who served as president and CEO for 5 years. Liken is a member of Respironics’ board of directors and has advised the company on marketing and sales as a consultant.

“Our company initiated a restructuring program in order to position the company to be increasingly responsive to the changing health care environment and our customers,” says Gerald E. McGinnis, Respironics’ founder and chairman. “Jim Liken’s appointment is an important step in completing the restructuring. We believe his experience in the marketing, distribution, and sales side of the medical product business and his entrepreneurial spirit will generate the greatest benefits for our customers, employees, and shareholders.”

Liken joins Respironics at a pivitol time when the company is reorganizing to better serve the needs of its customers in both the home and institutional setting. For its home care provider network, Liken says that the company is planning new strategies by becoming more focused on its customers and helping home care providers increase business.

Respironics has also announced an amendment to a supply agreement regarding the manufacture of Vital Signs’ single-use anesthesia face mask. The amendment extends the termination date of the existing agreement to January 1, 2006, with an option to extend to 2011. This agreement is a continuation of an arrangement first entered into by both parties in 1980.

“Both Respironics and Vital Signs are proud of the contributions that this product has made to patients and health care practitioners over the past 18 years and look forward to a rewarding and productive continuation of our long-established relationship,” Liken says.

Respironics is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of medical devices for the home, hospital, and alternative clinical care settings. Vital Signs Inc and its subsidiaries design, manufacture, and market single-use medical products for anesthesia and critical care. (412) 731-2100; www.respironics.com.

Allied Healthcare Names New President/CEO
Allied Healthcare Products Inc, St Louis, has announced that Earl R. Refsland has been named president, CEO, and a director of the company. Refsland served as president and CEO of the company from 1986 to 1993 and guided the company through many important phases, including its initial public offering in 1992.

“We are delighted that Earl Refsland is rejoining Allied,” says John D. Weil, chairman of the company. “Allied experienced its greatest success under Earl’s leadership, and the board is confident that he has the capabilities and knowledge to help the company overcome its current challenges.”

Refsland replaces Uma Nandan Aggarwal who resigned from the company in July.

Allied Healthcare Inc is a manufacturer of respiratory care products, medical gas equipment, and emergency medical products used in hospitals and alternate care settings. (800) 444-3954; www.alliedhpi.com.

Instrumentation Laboratory Announces Agreement
Instrumentation Laboratory SpA (IL), Milan, Italy, and Lexington, Mass, was awarded a new agreement with InSource Health Services, Chatsworth, Calif. IL also released its consolidated results for the first quarter ended February 28, 1999 and filed a related Form 6-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The agreement covers IL’s complete line of critical care testing instruments, consumables, service, and information management products for use in hospital laboratories and at the point-of-care (POC). Included are products such as IL Synthesis™, GEM® Premier™, GEM PCL™, and IMPACT™ for Critical Care.

“This unique arrangement with InSource will give their membership access to a complete and growing portfolio of critical care products. IL is looking forward to working with their sales and customer service teams to bring cost-effective solutions to each member facility,” says Scott LaNeve, executive director of sales and national accounts for IL.

In addition, net revenues for the company decreased Lit 1.1 billion, or 1.0%, to Lit 104.5 billion from Lit 105.6 billion for the 3 months ended February 28, 1998. This decrease is attributed to lower sales in Italy due to competitive product offerings, IL’s efforts to rebuild its sales force, and lower sales of hemostasis products by Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, Calif. (781) 861-0710; www.ilww.com.

Ballard Medical Products Acquired by Kimberly-Clark Corp
Ballard Medical Products, Draper, Utah, a manufacturer of disposable medical devices for respiratory care, gastroenterology, and cardiology, has been acquired by Kimberly-Clark Corp, Dallas.

The transaction, which involves a tax-free exchange of stock valued at approximately $774 million and will be accounted for as a purchase, took place after Ballard’s shareholders approved the deal at a meeting in Utah. The agreement calls for Ballard shareholders to receive $25 for each share of Ballard Medical common stock, payable in shares of Kimberly-Clark common stock.

The acquisition allows for Kimberly-Clark to gain new technologies and product offerings while further expanding its growing professional health care business. New product offerings include Trach Care, a brand of respiratory suction catheters. In addition, Kimberly-Clark will add enteral feeding tubes, endoscopy devices, disposable defibrillator pads, and foam dispensed soap to its existing line of surgical gowns, drapes, sterilization wraps, and disposable face masks. (801) 572-6800; www.bmed.com.

Group One Therapy Changes Name to Reflect Parent Company, CompHealth
Group One Therapy, Grand Rapids, Mich, an allied health professional staffing company, announced it has adopted the name of its parent company, CompHealth, Salt Lake City.

CompHealth’s Grand Rapids office will continue to provide temporary allied-health staffing to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, school systems, and other health care organizations nationwide utilizing traveling therapists. The name change will allow the former Group One Therapy to take advantage of the reputation that CompHealth has built over the last 20 years. It will also benefit from the cross-selling efforts of the company’s other divisions.

“Throughout its history, Group One Therapy has been a major contributor to CompHealth’s dynamic growth. However, our recent success in broadening our offering of products and services has created tremendous cross-selling opportunities that are best served under a single brand name,” says Michael Weinholtz, president and CEO of CompHealth. “The CompHealth name, known as an industry leader for more than 20 years, will continue to enhance the sales and service efforts of our Grand Rapids office and build upon its long-standing client and provider relationships. Our Grand Rapids operations remain critical to CompHealth’s overall mission: becoming the dominant one-stop-shop, single-source provider of temporary and permanent staffing solutions to the health care industry.”

CompHealth—which founded Group One Therapy in 1987—provides staffing services including temporary physicians, nurses, and allied-health professionals. CompHealth also offers permanent placement of physicians and other health care professionals, and provides credentialing services to health care institutions and managed care groups. (800) 453-3030; www.comphealth.com; www.comphealthallied.com.

Invacare Receives NorthCoast 99 Award
Invacare Corp, Elyria, Ohio, recently received a NorthCoast 99 award for being one of the best companies to work for in Northeast Ohio.

Invacare received the award based on its policies and programs in compensation and benefits, safety and health, diversity, recruitment and selection, work and family issues, community involvement, and training and education.

“We are very honored to have been selected for this prestigious award recognizing the region’s best companies,” says A. Malachi Mixon III, chairman and CEO. “We take our responsibility to provide a safe, rewarding, and productive work environment for our associates very seriously. We are gratified that these efforts have been recognized. We thank our associates for the many contributions they have made in establishing Invacare as the leading manufacturer and distributor in the home health care industry.”

The annual award was presented by the Employers Resource Council and Enterprise Development Inc, both located in Cleveland. It recognizes 99 of the best companies to work for as judged by employee attraction, retention, and motivation. Companies were selected by soliciting names from employees throughout the region via a targeted multi-media campaign that included radio, television, Internet, and print. Nominated companies were contacted and asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing its efforts to attract and retain employees. (800) 333-6900; www.invacare.com.