Great Hill Partners has acquired a majority interest in Blue Cloud Pediatric Surgery Centers from TPG’s The Rise Fund.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2011, Blue Cloud opened its first centers in Texas. The company now operates 32 facilities in 12 states and sees more than 60,000 pediatric cases a year.
“Blue Cloud addresses a critical gap in the U.S. health care system: affordable, high-quality dental and oral surgery for vulnerable populations,” Craig Byrnes, managing director at Great Hill, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to support Devin and his exceptional management team as they expand Blue Cloud’s national footprint and advance its mission.”
Founded in 1998, Boston-based Great Hill Partners invests between $100 million and $500 million in companies across health care, software, financial services and other sectors. The firm has raised more than $12 billion in capital and invested in over 100 companies, including AffiniPay, Wayfair, Vision Government Solutions and BigChange.
“Great Hill’s track record of scaling innovative health care platforms makes them the ideal partner for our next chapter,” Devin Larsen, CEO of Blue Cloud, said in a press release. “Their collaborative approach to working with management teams, combined with their deep growth resources and sector expertise, will be instrumental as we accelerate center expansion and deepen partnerships with payers and providers.”
There are more than 250 children’s hospitals in the U.S., some of which are beginning to explore ambulatory surgery center (ASC) strategies as part of outpatient growth and to try and lower costs. However, few have operational pediatric ASCs, with most exploring joint ventures or hospital‑attached models.
“In our state, there aren’t a lot of free-standing [pediatric] ASCs,” Tammy Straub, administrator of perioperative services at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania, told ASC News in an unrelated interview.
While Pennsylvania has some pediatric operating rooms, there are very few facilities dedicated specifically to pediatric patients, Straub said. Her center also offers dental procedures, and pediatric hospitals can handle outpatient cases, but most pediatric-focused facilities operate as a mix of inpatient and outpatient rather than stand-alone ASCs.
Still, Blue Cloud and Great Hill are betting that pediatric ASCs are poised to grow in the next two years.
“We will ensure that underserved pediatric and special-needs populations receive the care they deserve in the safest, most cost-effective setting,” Larsen said.
Neither Great Hill Partners nor Blue Cloud responded to requests for comment from Ambulatory Surgery Center News.
