Cumberland Consulting Group expands managed services practice with LinkEHR acquisition

Cumberland Consulting Group, a leading healthcare consulting and services firm, has acquired Madison, Wis.-based LinkEHR, an EHR-focused managed services firm specializing in Tier 1, 2 and 3 application support for health systems.

LinkEHR provides remote application support, including Epic Help Desk services, application break-fix and maintenance support for the full suite of Epic applications. In addition, the firm offers physician concierge support, as well as optimization services and outsourced build services.

The transaction expands Cumberland’s managed services capabilities for providers and strengthens its core EHR application support offering with the addition of a dedicated support call center with deep Epic knowledge and expertise. The firm is currently offering support for Cerner applications and has plans to further extend its core EHR application support services to include a number of other leading applications.

“Managed services is a natural extension of our core advisory consulting and professional services for providers, and the partnership with LinkEHR supports our efforts to continue to grow our capabilities in that area,” said Brian Cahill, Cumberland CEO. “We are now able to deliver solutions to our provider clients across the full service continuum, including system selection, planning, implementation and optimization, as well as application support and legacy system support.”

LinkEHR’s Madison office will be maintained and will serve as the base for Cumberland’s newly formed Provider Managed Services Practice. Jill Nemoir, CEO of LinkEHR, will join Cumberland as Managing Director of Managed Services, where she will oversee the firm’s EHR application support and transitional legacy support services for provider organizations. Approximately 50 LinkEHR professionals will be joining the Cumberland team as a result of the transaction, bringing Cumberland’s total employee count to more than 500.

“We are excited to join a fast-growing organization like Cumberland with a proven track record for providing high-quality solutions for healthcare clients,” Nemoir said. “Not only do our organizations’ services complement one another, but we also share a set of core values that drive the way we approach our work, our clients and our employees.”

This is the fourth acquisition for Cumberland in just under five years. Two years ago, the firm announced the acquisition of Oleen Pinnacle Consulting Group, which expanded the firm’s presence in the payer market. In 2014, the firm announced the purchase of Cipe Consulting Group, a Seattle-based healthcare technology consulting firm specializing in electronic health records and revenue cycle system implementation and support. In 2013, Cumberland acquired Mindlance Life Sciences, a consulting group focused on providing advisory and technology implementation services to pharmaceutical companies.

Cumberland is a portfolio company of Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in growth-oriented middle market healthcare and business services companies.