QHR Corporation's CEO and founder Al Hildebrandt to retire

KELOWNA, BC, Jan. 22, 2015 /CNW/ - (TSX-V: QHR) QHR Corporation announced today that Al Hildebrandt will be retiring as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer.  He will continue to serve in the role of CEO of the Company through a services arrangement until a successor is appointed or until the Company's next Annual General Meeting.  Following his succession, he has agreed to continue to be engaged by the Company to assist with strategic initiatives as well as to provide assistance with the transition as a consultant to the Company until June 2016, and has entered into a standstill agreement with the Company for a period of 5 years. The Company has agreed, commensurate with Mr. Hildebrandt's successful and long standing commitment and service to the Company, and for his agreement to provide services into the future, as well as for his other commitments to the Company, to pay Mr. Hildebrandt an amount of up to $988,000, payable over the period ending June 2016.

A committee of the Board has been struck to conduct a search for a successor CEO. Mr. Hildebrandt will continue to serve as a director of the Company and will be named as a nominee on the Company's slate for election at the 2015 Annual General Meeting.

Mark Kohler, the Company's Executive Chairman, said, "The Board of Directors would like to thank Al for his service as CEO and for his many contributions to QHR.  It was his inspiration that led to the Company's formation.  Under his guidance and leadership, the Company has grown to over 200 employees across Canada and the United States, serving well over 10,000 healthcare providers. Al will be leaving the Company with a long list of outstanding accomplishments to his credit. The Company is pleased that after Al's successor is chosen, he will continue to participate in the long-term growth of the Company as a director and as a strategic advisor to the board."

In the last 13 months, the company has completed a two-part business transformation strategy that first saw it successfully divest its EMS division in December 2013 for gross proceeds of $20 million. Combining this result with record-setting recurring revenue growth from sales performance of the AccuroEMR platform, the Company was able to execute the second key part of its strategy to advance its efforts and investment in innovation for health providers and patients. This renewed focus led to the strategic acquisition of Medeo Corporation, completed on November 24, 2014, injecting the Company with new advanced Medeo technology assets targeting direct-to-patient virtual care solutions, as well as an accomplished senior management team with proven track records and experience in driving performance through innovation.

The Company is planning for the consolidated and integrated senior management team to lead the Company into further improved profitability, into new markets, and to support Mr. Hildebrandt's activities with the Company's other strategic healthcare industry initiatives, during his transition to retirement.

In addition to initiating a search for a new Chief Executive Officer, immediate next steps include a functional realignment of the business that will see Michael Dingle, the former President of Medeo Corporation taking on the role of Senior Vice President, Operations, with responsibility for consolidated sales & marketing operations, corporate development and market strategy. Divisional General Manager, Michael Checkley will assume the new role of Senior Vice President, Product & Technology, responsible for the continued evolution of the Company's technologies across all markets. Jerry Diener, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, will continue to lead the Company's Finance and Administrative functions. The three functional leaders will continue to report to Mr. Hildebrandt until the selection of the new CEO is announced.

"2014 was a pivotal growth year for QHR," Mr. Hildebrandt said. "QHR is well financed with a strong balance sheet and has a strong revenue base with approximately $23 Million of the total being recurring revenue. In addition, the acquisition of Medeo introduces a new offering and revenue driver, as well as a strong management team that will play a key role in leading the future direction of the company's growth plans.

I have received the support of my management team, my employees, and the Board to pursue my retirement. I feel very fortunate to have three very capable leaders such as Michael Checkley, Michael Dingle and Jerry Diener, as well as the management team and over 200 staff that support them to ensure our continued success as a leading healthcare technology and solutions business."

"I cherish the time I have spent building and working with the team at QHR. My retirement will afford me the opportunity to stay involved as an investor and a keen observer of the business, in addition to having more time for my family and a wide variety of personal passions." 

Mr. Dingle, the Company's new Senior Vice President of Operations said, "The organizational realignment will allow the company to better integrate its existing products that provide electronic medical records software, secure messaging and video technology, and billing and health insurance management for health professionals. With QHR organized by functional responsibility, we will be in a much better position to enhance our profitability, expand upon our product portfolio, enter new geographic markets, and increase the value we bring to our existing clients and shareholders."

Mr. Checkley, the Company's new Senior Vice President of Product & Technology said, "We have a great team, a ready market, and a modern product and technology suite. I am very much looking forward to continuing our track record of leading with the capabilities of our product. The drive within the Company to innovate is strong".

"This approach is sensible and timely. Having completed the business transformation to an innovative healthcare technology and solutions business, and with the financial performance, resources, and long-term prospects in place with the current client base, the timing couldn't be better for Mr. Hildebrandt to pass the business on to the next generation of leaders," said Mr. Diener, CFO.

About QHR Technologies

QHR has an unrelenting focus on introducing technology to improve the quality of human health. With a 10-year track record as the single leading Electronic Medical Records platform in Canada, QHR has a suite of technologies that work together to enable secure medical records management for clinical environments, to empower health providers with tools for virtual care including secure video consultation and messaging, and to facilitate billing, health insurance eligibility and adjudication, including the secure transfer of data related to claims. Health providers around the world use these technologies to drive innovation within their practice and improve the quality of care delivered to patient populations.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward looking statements".  Forward-looking statements are projections of financial performance or future events.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "believe", "estimate" and words of similar meaning.  Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and they are subject to risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include those concerning the fact and proposed timing of Mr. Hildebrandt's retirement, the Company's plans to better integrate its existing products that provide electronic medical records software, secure messaging and video technology, and billing and health insurance management for health professionals and enhance its profitability and expand upon its product portfolio, enter new geographic markets, and increase the value the Company brings to its existing clients. These statements are subject to risks that may cause the actual results to be materially different in future periods from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statement.  Risks that may prevent or delay the forward looking statements from coming to fruition as anticipated include Mr. Hildebrandt's personal circumstances, the degree of difficulty in integrating QHR's various virtual care and EMR products, as well as market factors that may increase costs or time to market.  QHR is a technology business development enterprise where investment and product enhancements must be carefully managed to achieve long-term revenue growth and profitability. It is our policy not to update forward looking statements except to the extent required under applicable securities laws. Further information on the Company is available at www.sedar.com or at the Company's website, www.QHRtechnologies.com 

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE QHR Corporation

Mark Kohler, Executive Chairman, 416-209-8016, [email protected]; Jerry Diener, VP Finance & CFO, 250-979-1722, [email protected]; Al Hildebrandt, CEO, 250-979-1701, [email protected]