Tunstall Americas makes purchase

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—Announced earlier this month, Tunstall Healthcare Group, through its subsidiary Tunstall Americas, acquired Providence Lifeline Medical Alert Service. Tunstall Americas provides healthcare monitoring services throughout the United States.

“For us, we were looking at really filling in geography and covering pockets that we hadn't really had good distribution in,” Ryan Fix, VP and general manager for Tunstall Americas, told Security Systems News. “We've been in discussions with them … for about two years now. So, it was a long process of really getting to know both organizations and coming together to find the right solution.”

Providence Lifeline Medical Alert Service is a business unit of Providence Health & Services, with a presence in the Northwest U.S, as well as in California, Texas and New Mexico. Tunstall will be maintaining the offices and the staff, expanding its regional presence.

“We service the same customers. I think we've got a broader service offering as far as product portfolio. So, we'll be able to bring that to the customers out of the gate,” Fix said.

“One of the synergies that we had—that both organizations believed in—was really that service aspect. Instead of mailing units out, we have feet on the ground and field technicians that go out and actually go to the customers homes and do the installation and do any of the service calls that are required,” Fix said.

Providence's accounts, which were previously monitored through Phillips Lifeline, will be brought into Tunstall's HIPAA compliant call centers in New York and Rhode Island.

Tunstall completed one other acquisition this year, a smaller purchase in the Midwest, Fix said. “Behind the scenes, we've been making investments into expanding technology, upgrading platforms and doing things that … we think, separated us from anybody else in the industry.

Tunstall Americas was formed in 2012, after Tunstall Healthcare Group purchased the American Medical Alert Corporation. Tunstall Americas currently has 500 employees.

In addition to medical monitoring services, Tunstall also manufactures a range of medical alert, telehealth, and medication management solutions including traditional telephone based systems, cellular systems, and mobile safety devices to meet the needs of all individuals.