LifeNet Health to add more than 160 jobs in 2015

Hiring brings Hampton Roads-based regenerative medicine company to nearly 900 employees

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May 29, 2015, 10:04 ET

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LifeNet Health plans to enlarge its workforce this year, bringing its total hiring for 2015 to more than 160 people.

The organization's growth is fueled largely by increased demand for LifeNet Health's innovative bio-implants, which are being made more widely available domestically and internationally, allowing more patients to be served. It also is a reflection of the region's growing presence in the biomedical industry.

"The growth and success of LifeNet Health is a great example of Virginia's strengths in bioscience," said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. "We are poised to leverage our assets and take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the bioscience sector to create more jobs and build a new Virginia economy. Innovations in areas such as regenerative medicine have the potential to help many thousands of people and be powerful engines of economic development in the Commonwealth."

In 2014, LifeNet Health signed an agreement that made DePuy Synthes, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, the exclusive, worldwide distributor of ViviGen, a LifeNet Health-developed product used for healing bone after injuries or surgeries. Also last year, Novadaq Technologies, Inc., became the exclusive distributor of LifeNet Health's DermACELL tissue products, which are used for post-mastectomy breast reconstruction and for treating chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers.

"The exciting thing about our growth is the opportunity it creates to positively affect other people's lives and restore their health," said Rony Thomas, CEO of LifeNet Health. "When we provide a transplant for a patient, we not only touch their lives but the lives of their family and friends who are supporting them through injury or illness."

Growing the workforce is an extension of LifeNet Health's mission of saving lives, restoring health and giving hope, which is accomplished through donated organs, tissues and cells.

"We are hiring people who believe in our mission and want to be a part of making it a reality every day," Thomas said. "They will be an integral part of ensuring that the gift of donation is used to improve as many lives as possible."

By the end of 2015, LifeNet Health will be recruiting to nearly 900 employees. That's a 54-percent increase since 2010. Nearly all of the new positions for 2015 are in the organization's three Virginia Beach facilities to help ensure the need for donated tissue continues to be met.

About LifeNet Health
LifeNet Health helps save lives, restore health, and give hope to thousands of people each year. LifeNet Health is the world's most trusted provider of transplant solutions, from organ procurement to new innovations in bio-implant technologies and cellular therapies—a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, while always honoring the donors and healthcare professionals that allow the healing process. For more information about LifeNet Health, go to www.LifeNetHealth.org.

SOURCE LifeNet Health