Dr. Richard Dutton Named Chief Quality Officer at U.S. Anesthesia Partners

New leadership level position demonstrates USAP's commitment to quality excellence

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - August 5, 2015 - U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (USAP) today announced Dr. Richard Dutton is joining its leadership team in the newly created role of Chief Quality Officer. Dr. Dutton is widely recognized as a leader in the field of anesthesia quality. Since 2009, he has served in clinical leadership positions within the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA including Chief Quality Officer and Medical Director of the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI).

"I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Dutton is joining our team as Chief Quality Officer. He will be a tremendous resource for our physician leaders as they continue to manage and drive performance in their clinical practices across USAP. It is hard to imagine an individual more uniquely qualified for this role. This is an important example of how bringing together and sharing resources among the nation's leading groups of anesthesiologists allows us to make a very positive impact on the way anesthesia services are delivered," said Kris Bratberg, President and CEO of USAP.

Dr. Dutton most recently served as the Chief Quality Officer of the ASA and as the founding Executive Director of AQI. He was hired by the ASA to bring AQI's vision to life, which is to be the primary source of information for quality improvement in the clinical practice of anesthesiology. The AQI maintains the largest anesthesia registry in the country. Aggregated data in the registries is used to create educational materials, quality management benchmarking reports, academic papers, comparative effectiveness research, and reports for ASA officers and committees, all in the effort to improve the quality of patient care. Dr. Dutton serves on numerous ASA and federal committees working to develop measures for anesthesia performance, perioperative patient experience and new models of healthcare.

Dr. Dutton received his B.A. from Harvard in 1983, an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1987 and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland in 2001. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 1991 and then served as an attending anesthesiologist at the National Naval Medical Center, while on active duty in the United States Navy. In 1994, Dr. Dutton joined the Faculty at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center of the University of Maryland, where he served as Director of Trauma Anesthesiology and Director of Clinical Operations. Dr. Dutton was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2009, based on his work in trauma system design.

"My goal is to say that USAP is the best anesthesia practice in the business and be able to prove it. USAP's dedication to capturing data is impressive and I predict it will only continue to grow," said Dr. Dutton. "It is imperative that the health care industry has a better understanding of the long and short term outcomes for patients. USAP has done an excellent job of working with hospitals to quantify best practices. I am excited to join USAP as this will be an integral part of my new role," he continued.

"USAP was created with first and foremost a commitment to preserving and advancing high quality, cost effective perioperative medical care. The addition of Dr. Rick Dutton reflects our continued commitment to this organizing principle," said Dr. John Zerwas, USAP Board Member, Texas State Representative and 2013 President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

About USAP
USAP is a physician-services organization that is dedicated to providing high-quality perioperative services. USAP partners with leading physician groups and provides the capital resources, infrastructure and business expertise needed to position them for continued growth and success in their markets. USAP's physician partners maintain governance of their practice and collectively own approximately fifty percent of USAP.

USAP-affiliated physician groups share operational and clinical best practices helping to facilitate the delivery of consistent, quality services for patients, surgeons, facilities and payers. USAP's more than 1,800 anesthesia providers serve healthcare facilities in Florida, Texas and Colorado. USAP's capital partner is Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, an investment firm with significant experience investing in and building leading healthcare companies. Visit www.usap.com to learn more.