Health-and-Fitness online information.

SYRACUSE - Fitness Forum Services, LLC - a fast-growing, Syracuse-based operator of outpatient physical therapy and health-and-wellness centers, - has expanded its operations in the Mohawk Valley and Maryland. A $5.5 million expansion has increased the company's employment and geographic footprint, says James Howard Smith, chief executive officer of Fitness Forum.

The financing, provided by HSBC Capital Markets with support from Steve Mitchell at HSBC's Syracuse office, allowed Fitness Forum to buy out its partners in the Mohawk Valley market, purchase four locations in Maryland, and add aquatic-therapy equipment to its Fishkill, Onondaga Hill, and Liverpool-area locations.

Fitness Forum had operated locations in Camden, Herkimer, Rome, and Barneveld in conjunction with Network Rehab, LLC. Network Rehab was a joint venture of Fitness Forum and Mohawk Valley Network, Inc., a group composed of hospitals in Oneida and Herkimer counties. The buyout transaction closed Dec. 31.

Fitness Forum purchased the four Maryland locations from Aquacare Rehabilitation Services on Feb. 9. The Maryland acquisitions give Fitness Forum six locations in that state.

Next month Fitness Forum will open a 4,000-square-foot, physical-therapy facility at the North Medical Center in the Town of Clay.

Founded in 1989, Fitness Forum now operates 35 locations in six states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Maryland, and Georgia. Smith says the firm's employment, which was 204 on Jan. 1, 2004, is expected to reach 317 as of March 1.

The expansion project had been in the works for several months, Smith adds. He declined to provide financing or acquisition terms.

Fitness Forum provides physical therapy and services such as sports medicine, occupational medicine, preventive pro:grams, and wellness services. Though the name may imply a health club, Smith says Fitness Forum has a broad approach to fitness.

"We provide fitness and wellness," says Smith. "Repairing a problem won't do any good if the person goes right out and gets injured again."

Smith, who founded the firm 16 years ago, has worked in the fitness business since 1981.

Fitness Forum had annual revenues of approximately $16 million before the expansion. Smith estimates the acquisitions will add $6 million to Fitness Forum's annual revenue. After the latest projects are complete and stabilized, Fitness Forum plans to grow again through in-market expansion and by entering new markets.

"We're going to stop and transition," Smith explains. "And then we're definitely going to grow again."

# posted by Medical Information : 2:48 AM