Locum Leaders, a new healthcare staffing firm based in Alpharetta GA, said today that 2009 should bring strong growth in its business despite the weak economy. "The economy notwithstanding, we predict strong quarterly growth in our business, especially in the areas of hospital medicine (patient care delivered by hospital-based physicians) and anesthesiology," Locum Leaders CEO Will Drescher said in a statement released today.

Locum Leaders began in 2008 and provides temporary physicians, known as locum tenens, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. The company said it plans to expand into surgery staffing this year.

Drescher was previously a partner and vice president at LocumTenens.com, part of Jackson Healthcare, the third-largest locum tenens staffing provider in the U.S.

W3 LLC is an investor in Locum Leaders. W3's principals were partners in B2B Workforce, an information technology recruiting company acquired in 2007 by Vedior NV.

Staffing Industry Analysts forecasts the locum tenens staffing segment will grow by 14.0% in 2009.