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Reliant starts search for CEO

December 02, 2008

Reliant Health Care Professionals said Monday it's searching for a new CEO. Current President and CEO Gregory Mikkelsen will step down once the company finds a replacement. Afterward, Mikkelsen will continue to serve as executive VP and vice chair of the Denver-based healthcare staffing firm that specializes in providing nurses on a rapid response basis.

"We, obviously, have treasured Greg's tenure with the company," said Chairman Ray Marcy. "He really helped to pioneer the whole concept of rapid response in the travel nurse sector. ' Greg was at the epicenter of refining and defining the methodology."

Reliant specializes in providing nurses to healthcare facilities on short notice, in 10 to 12 days or less. And most of Reliant's nursing assignments last four to eight weeks, shorter than the typical 13-week travel nurse placement. Marcy said the company is the largest rapid response provider of nurse staffing.

Mikkelsen said the change in roles will allow him to continue with Reliant as well as take part in activities outside staffing. "There are some other things I would like to do professionally and personally," he said. Mikkelsen has spent 37 years in healthcare, including 22 in staffing, and said he began speaking with the board a year ago about a succession plan.

Mikkelsen said the company has managed to perform well despite the tough economic environment, and it's optimistic about 2009. Reliant also plans to introduce a new innovation in the second quarter of next year.

"Our continued success in moving forward on the future is to essentially take rapid response to the next level of innovation," he said. "It's going to be a very bold step on our part."

Marcy said the search for a new CEO is just getting under way.

"We would like to find a new CEO as quickly as possible, but whether it's in January or in April we want to make sure it's the right person," Marcy said. "We obviously want to do it right, we want to do it publicly."

The company operates as FASTAFF Travel Nursing and U.S. Nursing Corp. It's owned by Clarion Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm.