First-quarter revenue rose 5.5% at AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (NYSE: AMN), the largest healthcare staffing firm in the US. Growth was led by the San Diego, Calif.-based firm’s nurse and allied staffing business, where revenue rose 7.9%.

Locum tenens revenue edged up 0.3% in the first quarter, while the company’s “other workforce soutions” segment rose 3.0%. Other workforce solutions includes AMN’s physician permanent placement, interim leadership and executive search, vendor management system, recruitment process outsourcing, education, medical coding and workforce optimization business lines.

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“I am very proud of how our teams rallied to meet our clients’ higher-than-expected staffing needs,” CEO Susan Salka said. “Demand continues to grow for strategic partners capable of providing comprehensive solutions to meet the evolving healthcare workforce challenges.”

Revenue by segment

The company also noted it acquired three firms in April — MedPartners, Phillips DiPisa and Leaders for Today — that expected to be immediately accretive to AMN’s adjusted earnings per share.

Guidance

AMN forecast second-quarter revenue to be up between 8.2% and 9.6% year over year. Gross margin is forecast to be 32.5% to 33.0% compared to 32.9% in the second quarter of 2017.