MedLife will build in the next three years private hospitals and clinics with 40 to 50 beds in five cities of the country: Constanta, Timisoara, Brasov, Iasi and Cluj-Napoca. The total amount of the investment, in the Memorial Hospitals and the MedLife Hyperclinics in the country, is of $ 25 million, out of which $14 million will be ensured through own funds and profits generated by MedLife, while $11 million represent the funds granted by IFC.
The agreement signed by MedLife and IFC also ensures, in addition to financing, advisory services in the field of construction and hospital management. Prior to the signature of this contract, IFC has been actively involved in implementing specific procedures, both medical and regarding corporate culture, construction safety, etc. According to the agreement, MedLife will implement medical and safety procedures at international standards in all Memorial Hospitals and MedLife Hyperclinics.
Mihail Marcu, General Manager of MedLife, noted, “MedLife’s Memorial Hospital, which will soon open, is the first step in our strategy to expand into regions beyond Bucharest, especially areas where there has long been a great need for high-quality private health care. We see IFC as an important partner in helping us achieve our strategic vision. This partnership recognizes our efforts to establish benchmarks of medical excellence and outstanding quality of service. IFC’s financing will help us bridge the gap in the delivery of medical services and realize our vision of emerging as one of Romania’s leading health care providers.”
Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education, added, “One of the main reasons that IFC works in the social sectors, such as health care, is to help relieve the burden on the country’s public health system and stimulate private health insurance. We are very happy, therefore, to partner with MedLife to deliver these services. MedLife combines the vision and characteristics we associate with success. We also hope that IFC’s considerable global experience in hospitals around the world will be of value to MedLife and its sponsors.”
MedLife is currently finalising the largest private hospital in Romania, built in Bucharest: the Memorial Hospital, a premier in complying to the compulsory requirements of the European Union. For its the development MedLife signed a technical assistance contract with IFC in November 2005.
The in-country expansion of MedLife will take place in two steps. In the first phase, 2006 – 2007, MedLife will open the Memorial Hospital in Bucharest, Constanta and Brasov and MedLife Hyperclinics in Brasov, Timisoara and Constanta, while in the second phase, in 2008, MedLife will inaugurate the Memorial Hospitals in Timisoara, Iasi and Cluj, and respectively Hyperclinics in Iasi and Cluj.
Through its expansion in the 5 most important cities in the country, MedLife becomes the first national provider of private hospital care services in Romania, capable of delivering integrated services for private medical insurance.
MedLife has over 75,000 subscriptions from over 900 companies and has recorded, in the first 9 months of 2006, a turnover of $6.3 million, representing a 51% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. The company estimates the value of the health care services, in total, at approximately 200 million Euro, and for one of the most important market segments, of services for corporate clients, MedLife holds a 25% market share in Bucharest.
MedLife reference centre is the Hyperclinic with over 3.600 sqm and 40 medical offices. The medical staff comprises 70 permanent specialist physicians and an additional 40 physicians as collaborators. MedLife is present through its medical offices in Ploiesti, Brasov, Constanta and Arad. In the territory, MedLife provides to its clients the same medical services through the 123 partner clinics in the NetLife network.
