HealthGrades Founder Kerry Hicks Joins WorldOne Board

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldOne (www.worldone.com), the global leader in healthcare insights and intelligence, announced today that HealthGrades founder, Chairman of the Board, and former CEO, Kerry Hicks has joined its Board of Directors.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120828/NE60200LOGO )

Since launching HealthGrades in 1998, Hicks led the publicly traded company through eleven years of growth, then facilitated the sale of the business to Vestar Capital Partners for $295 million in 2010. Under Hicks' leadership, HealthGrades transformed into the premier destination for consumers seeking information on doctors and hospitals, growing to nearly one million daily visitors across its online properties.

"Kerry is one of healthcare's foremost experts on the tidal wave of consumerism that will forever change the way medicine is practiced and delivered," said Peter Kirk, CEO of WorldOne. "Following our recent acquisition of Sermo, Kerry's appointment to our Board adds a seasoned industry veteran and visionary at a critical time, as we chart our course to become the de facto global platform connecting providers and other healthcare stakeholders."

"With healthcare's largest global online network and most advanced digital engagement platform, WorldOne Interactive, WorldOne is poised to deliver extraordinary value at unprecedented speed to healthcare systems worldwide," said Mr. Hicks. "I am thrilled to be joining the Board to collaborate with this talented team of entrepreneurs as they take digital health innovation to a whole new level."

Mr. Hicks built HealthGrades from a predecessor company, Specialty Care Network, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 1998. In 2000, he was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and today he continues to serve as Chairman of HealthGrades while routinely serving as a contributing columnist to numerous business publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, Forbes, and Business Week.

To learn more about WorldOne, visit www.worldone.com.

About WorldOne
WorldOne is the largest healthcare data collection company in the world serving the market research industry for over a decade. Headquartered in New York with 18 regional offices across North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, WorldOne offers clients online and offline access to medical professionals in over 80 countries through a range of differentiated products and services. WorldOne's global network includes over 1.7 million fully verified healthcare professionals, who in 2011 completed nearly half a million online surveys, answering over 20 million questions.

SOURCE WorldOne