US HealthVest, LLC announced today that it has raised $36 million through co-founders Richard Kresch, MD and Polaris Partners to acquire and develop psychiatric facilities with a focus on specialized, high-quality patient care. Co-investors include Fidelity Biosciences; George Conrades, Chairman of Akamai Technologies; Trevi Health Ventures; Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth; Carl Byers, former CFO of athenahealth; and members of the US HealthVest management team.

US HealthVest is headed by Richard Kresch, who previously led Ascend Health, one of the largest private psychiatric hospital providers in the United States. Before its acquisition in 2012, Polaris-backed Ascend Health operated nine freestanding behavioral health facilities with nearly 900 beds.

"The need for quality psychiatric care is increasing rapidly. US HealthVest has the experience and resources to expand access to care by developing new facilities and acquiring existing facilities with untapped potential," said Richard Kresch, MD, President and CEO of US HealthVest. "Through our past work, we have developed a strong reputation for working closely with local communities to meet unmet needs by creating important and impactful patient-focused facilities."

"A new model for mental health services is needed to improve patient care," said Brian Chee, US HealthVest board member and partner at Polaris Partners. "Polaris Partners is excited to back Richard and his strong team again as they make important contributions in this area of great need."

"The US HealthVest team has a track record of combining high-quality mental health care with specialized programs and sound cost-structures," said Jon Lim of Fidelity Biosciences. "We look forward to partnering with Dr. Kresch and Polaris in this new venture."

About US HealthVest, LLC

We will provide specialized, high quality psychiatric care, including substance abuse treatment, through a broad range of inpatient and outpatient programs. With the development of new facilities and the acquisition of existing facilities, we will expand access to care with a patient-centric approach.

About Polaris Partners

We are multistage investors with proven experience in Healthcare, Technology and Consumer sectors. Our partnership invests across all company lifecycle stages as lead or co-lead investor. Many of our companies have achieved great success. In 2012 alone, ten of our companies realized important partnership acquisitions, including Ascend Health (acquired by Universal Health Services) Avila Therapeutics (acquired by Celgene); deCODE Genetics (acquired by Amgen); and Mark Monitor (acquired by Thomson Reuters). For more information on the firm, its mission and its portfolio companies visit www.polarispartners.com

About Fidelity Biosciences

Fidelity Biosciences invests venture capital in biopharmaceutical, medical technology, healthcare information technology and healthcare service companies. The firm is a subsidiary of FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, one of the world's leading providers of financial services. For more than 40 years, Fidelity has been a significant presence in the venture capital and private equity industry. For more information, visit www.fidelitybiosciences.com.