OrthoNet Holdings to expand, add jobs - Westfair Communications

OrthoNet Holdings Inc., a White Plains orthopedic services company, announced Thursday it would be investing $4.5 million to expand its national headquarters, creating a projected 155 new jobs in the process.

With 440 employees nationwide and 350 at its Mamaroneck Ave. headquarters, OrthoNet is one of the nation”™s largest providers of orthopedic benefit management services, acting as a clearinghouse between health care providers, patients, insurance companies, and others.

Financial incentives played a major role in keeping the company in Westchester, including a package of up to $3 million in Excelsior tax credits from Empire State Development and $31,000 in sales tax exemptions from the Westchester Industrial Development Agency.

OrthoNet had been considering a move to Connecticut, according to Jessica Proud, spokeswoman for Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.

“We are excited about keeping and expanding our business in Westchester,” Roger Shedlin, president and CEO of OrthoNet, said in a statement. “This means our excellent local workforce will not face relocation or disruption.”

The company specializes in orthopedic care and regularly works with major health care companies to help them deliver cost-effective care to patients, said Richard Livingston, a spokesman for OrthoNet, who added that the company”™s work is divided between case management and claims processing.

The OrthoNet expansion gives further credence to Westchester”™s claim as the state”™s “intellectual capital,” said Laurence Gottlieb, the county”™s director of economic development.

“This win is crucial because firms such as OrthoNet are the backbone of the county”™s ”˜intellectual capital economy,”™ as Westchester”™s health care sector continues driving job growth today,” he said in the release.

A major focus for county government officials has been establishing strong lines of communication with area corporations, Proud said.

OrthoNet”™s announcement follows a string of other important expansions, Gottlieb said.

“When you add this expansion to recent announcements about Dannon, Atlas Air, and Acorda Therapeutics, Westchester County is well-positioned for the future as the state slowly emerges from the current recession.”