Paquin Group announces acquisition of Medical Spa

CELEBRATION, Fla. – (Feb. 14, 2007) The Paquin Group (www.ThePaquinGroup.com ), the nation's leading specialist in healthcare-based retail, today announced that it had acquired the Portofino Medical Spa business from Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Florida, as of December 2006.

“This acquisition is a first step in our strategy to own and manage retail enterprises in partnership with our hospital clients throughout the United States, “ stated Tony Paquin, CEO, The Paquin Group.

The company is developing and owning retail enterprises as part of a “living lab” strategy that will yield hands-on experience managing hospital-based retail initiatives. Paquin clients will have access to the operational details of those enterprises, greatly enhancing the value of its consulting services offering. The company is the only retail healthcare consulting firm offering such transparency in financial reporting of actual retail enterprises. These retail enterprises will be owned and operated by the company’s subsidiary, Healthcare Retail Partners.

The company will present operational details of the Medical and Day Spa business at the Healthcare Retail ’07 Conference on April 12-13. (www.HealthcareRetail07.com). The theme of this year’s conference is “Applied Retail’ and will focus on case studies and results of actual hospital-based healthcare initiatives. Download a PDF copy of the Conference Agenda here: http://www.healthcareretail07.com/pdf/agenda.pdf

The Portofino Medical Spa (www.PortofinoMedicalSpa.com) is a high-quality, 8,000 square-foot medical & day spa located on the waterfront in Pensacola, Florida. The Spa offers a full range of medical services including IPL, Thermage, Botox, Restylane, and day spa services such as facials, massage and manicure.

“Baptist built a world-class medical spa in Pensacola, and we are proud and excited that we were able to acquire ownership of that business,” Paquin said. The Spa continues to maintain a close strategic partnership with Baptist Health Care.

Dr. Jocelyn Leveque, MD, FACS serves as Medical Director for the Spa. Dr. Leveque is a highly respected Plastic Surgeon serving the Pensacola, Florida region. She maintains her practice, Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery (www.GulfCoastPlasticSurgery.com ), in the same building as the Portofino Medical Spa.

“We have many hospitals across the country building Spas with our assistance, and we expect this to be a growing part of our business in 2007. Our experience at Portofino will greatly enhance our ability to deliver predictable outcomes for those clients,” Paquin added.

Paquin believes that Medical Spas and related ventures like Wellness Clinics can be an important cornerstone strategy of hospitals’ consumer-driven retail initiatives.

The Paquin Group has entered discussions to joint venture the development of another Spa with a Florida-based hospital in the 2nd Quarter of 2007. That Spa will be approximately 2,000 square feet and will be located on the hospital campus.

The implementation of our “living lab” strategy and acquisition of the Spa has required an increase in personnel to the Paquin Team. “We now have over 40 talented professionals employed by The Paquin Group companies that are dedicated full time to the development, testing and implementation of hospital-related retail initiatives,” said Paquin.

About The Paquin Group

The Paquin Group, the nation’s leading specialist in healthcare-based retail, is an alliance of industry leading experts and resources created to assist hospitals in the implementation of healthcare retail strategies. The company’s core mission is to increase revenue opportunities and minimize risks for healthcare organizations. As Medicare reimbursement rates continue to be pressured downward and expenses rise, new sources for non-reimbursed revenues are becoming essential to the financial viability of hospitals. The Paquin Group helps hospitals identify and implement these new retail revenue strategies.