Ascension Health Ventures Closes Third Strategic Healthcare Venture Fund with Expanded Limited Partner Base

St. Louis, MO - January 7, 2013 - Ascension Health Ventures (AHV) announced the final closing of its third venture capital fund, CHV III, L.P.  The $225 million fund will invest in early- to later-stage healthcare companies that have the potential to deliver financial returns as well as support the strategic initiatives of the fund’s health system limited partners.  The firm will focus on investments in the healthcare services, information technology and medical device and diagnostic sectors.  This fund brings the firm’s total assets under management to $550 million.

AHV was launched in 2001 with $125 million, funded entirely by Ascension Health, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system and a subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance.  CHV II, L.P., a $200 million venture capital fund was launched in 2007 with an expanded limited partner base that included Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Catholic Health East (CHE) and Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West).  These funds are now fully committed and reserved and the limited partners have received financial returns and strategic benefits through access to AHV’s in-depth research and line of sight into future innovations.

Three new partners will join CHV III, including Intermountain Healthcare of Salt Lake City, Utah and Decatur Memorial Hospital of Decatur, IL.  Ascension Health Ventures III, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance, will be the general partner and provide management services to the limited partnership.

“Through AHV we are supporting businesses whose products and services are improving healthcare in new, more efficient and cost-effective ways; helping to bend the cost curve and addressing the serious cost issues facing U.S. healthcare,” said Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and CEO, Ascension Health Alliance. “At the same time, AHV’s successful investments bring capital into the health systems of all its partners; capital that helps them improve the quality and availability of care in their communities.”

“Our interest in partnering with like-minded organizations and individuals led us to commit to AHV,” said Ken Smithmier, Decatur Memorial Hospital CEO. 

“We are constantly on the lookout for innovative new technologies, like those on the horizon for personalized medicine, and we will look to AHV to help us identify ones that we can introduce into our market.”

CHV III, LP
Add One/Final

“We are proud of what AHV has accomplished over our 11+ year history, and are very excited about the addition of such highly regarded partners,” said Matt Hermann, Senior Managing Director at Ascension Health Ventures.  “As healthcare changes from a fee-for-service to a fee-for-value business, venture investing models like AHV are playing an increasingly important role in the healthcare ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurial companies solving big problems to our impressive roster of limited partners who operate nearly 300 hospitals across the country.”

About Ascension Health Ventures

Ascension Health Ventures (www.ascensionhealthventures.org) was launched in 2001 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascension Health.  Today it is a subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance, a parent holding company formed in 2012.  AHV’s role has been to construct and manage a strategic portfolio of investments that deliver a venture investment return, have the potential to transform the healthcare industry, and significantly enhance the experience for patients, their families and their caregivers.  AHV has three venture funds under management and its limited partners include Ascension Health Alliance, Catholic Health East, Catholic Health Initiatives, Decatur Memorial Hospital, Dignity Health, and Intermountain Healthcare.

About Ascension Health Alliance

Ascension Health Alliance (www.ascensionhealthalliance.org) is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Last year Ascension Health Alliance, through its subsidiary Ascension Health, provided more than $1.2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and community benefit programs. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries employ more than 121,000 associates serving in more than 1,400 locations in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Other Ascension Health Alliance subsidiaries focus on a wide range of service areas, including treasury management services, venture capital investing, global mission support and medical engineering services. Another subsidiary, Ascension Health Care Network, a joint venture with Oak Hill Capital Partners, provides an alternative funding source for the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and other healthcare provider entities.

For More Information Contact:

Shari Shane
Senior Director, Communications
Ascension Health Alliance
314.733.8211
sshane@ascensionhealth.org