SEATTLE, Wash. (May 2, 2002) - Locally headquartered HealthForce Partners, Inc. and Virginia Mason Medical Center today announced the sale of Virginia Mason's Occupational Medicine business to HealthForce Partners. The acquisition will extend HealthForce Partners' business of caring for injured workers into one of the region's leading occupational medicine providers.

"We are pleased to welcome to HealthForce Partners the occupational medicine physicians and staff previously with Virginia Mason," said Jack Siemering, president and CEO of HealthForce Partners. "Our newest partners are outstanding professionals who share our commitment to quality patient care and excellent customer service."

"The single most important criteria behind the sale to HealthForce Partners, is that it assures a continued high standard of service for our valued customers," said Sarah Patterson, Virginia Mason senior vice president. "Divesting our occupational medicine business allows us to refocus on our core patient care mission. We will, however, continue to have a close relationship with HealthForce Partners to ensure our mutual clients have access to the variety of specialized medical services available at Virginia Mason."

Following the acquisition, HealthForce Partners will employ all 41 members of the current Virginia Mason Occupational Medicine staff, manage the practice of the four existing occupational medicine physicians, and assume the division's existing customer base of 4,000 regional companies.

HealthForce Partners' Siemering says that integration of the occupational medicine practices into his organization will enhance the scope of services HealthForce Partners already offers for injured workers. "Since 1998, we have cared for thousands of injured workers in the Puget Sound region. As such, we have the knowledge and expertise needed to effectively treat and rehabilitate employees so they can get back to living and working."

According to Siemering, the HealthForce Partners approach to patient care is based on a belief that superior patient care results when the people who provide it have a voice in how it is delivered. "By focusing on innovating best practices, both in medicine and in service delivery, we are fulfilling our vision to make healthcare better for injured workers."

About HealthForce Partners
HealthForce Partners is a healthcare services company specializing in occupational medicine, wellness and rehabilitation. Founded in 1998, HealthForce Partners has 181 employees in 14 locations across the Puget Sound region providing care to more than 750 patients every business day.

About Virginia Mason
Virginia Mason Medical Center, founded in 1920, is a non-profit comprehensive regional healthcare system that combines a primary and specialty care group practice of nearly 400 physicians with a 336 bed acute care hospital in Seattle. Virginia Mason has a network of clinics located throughout the Puget Sound area as well as a world renowned research center.

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