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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CEP and MedAmerica, Inc. welcome first nurse consultant

Contact: Sarah Hay
800.476.1504
hays@cep.com

(August 9, 2004, Oakland, Calif.) California Emergency Physicians (CEP) Medical Group and MedAmerica, Inc. are pleased to announce the addition of Diana Contino, RN, MBA, CEN, CCRN, as a Nurse Consultant to its Operations Team. This position was created exclusively for Ms. Contino with the goal of continuing to strengthen CEP’s collaborative physician and nurse relationships as well as to provide management support to CEP-contracted Emergency Departments.

In her role, Ms. Contino supports CEP Medical and Regional Directors in identifying areas amenable to rapid improvement such as patient throughput and satisfaction as well as in further developing CEP’s Nurse/Physician Relationship Program, an initiative that was launched in 2002 to promote collaborative relationships with the growing network of nursing staff that provide care at CEP-contracted Emergency Departments.

“Diana’s expertise in clinical and business operations complements CEP’s efforts to further improve emergency care to all patients,” said Prentice Tom, MD, CEP’s Chief Medical Officer. “As CEP’s first consultant dedicated to responding to nursing needs and concerns, she raises the bar for how a medical group should engage its entire staff in the decision making process,” said Dr. Tom.

“I am honored to be a part of CEP and look forward to collaborating with Medical and Regional Directors on addressing and implementing operational initiatives and processes to continually improve emergency care to patients,” said Ms. Contino. “CEP has an excellent reputation in terms of nurse relations and recognition and I look forward to using my skills to further champion nurse/physician relationship efforts.”

Ms. Contino has more than 16 years of administrative and clinical experience in the emergency, trauma, and surgical intensive care settings. She received her bachelor of science degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and her master’s in business administration from the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, Orange, California. Ms. Contino is the Management Section Editor for Critical Care Nurse, and is a regular finance writer for Nursing Management. She has also authored several articles on topics relating to financial statements, hospital performance, ratios, unit budgeting, capital budgeting, APC’s supply and demand, and the cost of turnover. She is also an Editorial Board Member of ED Management and the President of the Orange Coast ENA Chapter and President Elect of Cal/ENA. In 2002, Ms. Contino was chosen as a finalist for the Nursing Excellence Award “Advancing the Profession.”

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CEP was founded in 1975 and is the leading provider of physician staffing, management, and consulting services for Emergency Departments and Ambulatory Care Practices in California. CEP is the largest democratic physician group in the country dedicated to the independent practice of emergency medicine. To date, CEP includes more than 900 providers who treat nearly two million emergency patients each year. MedAmerica, Inc., has partnered with physicians for more than 25 years, providing innovative solutions and proven practice support for managing emergency, primary, and hospital-based care. For more information about MedAmerica, Inc., visit their website at www.medamerica.com .