About Us

SpineUniverse (part of the Vertical Health family of websites) is a leader in patient and healthcare professional education, providing clear, straightforward information on conditions related to the spine, including degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and scoliosis.    We are committed to presenting trustworthy, high-quality information. 

Our content is developed by a diverse team of experts in their field, including:

• Editorial Board: Our Editorial Board is made up of more than 90 of the world's leading spine experts.
• Affiliated Medical Groups: We work with a selection of leading professional societies and foundations in the spine field.
• Management and Staff: We have an expert team with extensive experience in online health, medical education, and business development.

Editorial Board
SpineUniverse's Editorial Board is a "Who's Who" of the world's leading spine experts. Consisting of more than 90 specialists, the Board includes surgeons, pain management physicians, chiropractors, nurses, physical therapists, and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. Our Board members review every article that is submitted to SpineUniverse, so you know you can trust the information you find here. For more details on how we research, write, and review our articles, please see our Editorial Guidelines.

Affiliated Medical Groups
SpineUniverse is affiliated with several of the most prestigious spine-related medical organizations. These affiliations enable SpineUniverse to present the most current spine research from distinguished groups such as:

• American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
• American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
• Cleveland Clinic
• National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON)
• Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)

Management and Staff
Bill Paquin
Chief Executive Officer

Prior to his work at Vertical Health, Bill was a Senior Executive of Medsite (acquired by WebMD), where he oversaw their growth in online physician education.

For the last decade, Bill has helped launch start-up companies pioneering online education and community. His work includes senior positions at HorizonLive (now Wimba), an eLearning company, and Developers.Net, an IT portal facilitating learning and collaboration in the technical community.

Jeremy Longhurst
President, Medical Education

Jeremy has more than 15 years of experience in the spine field. In the 1990s, he served as Director of Medical Publishing, Executive Director, and President of various spine-related educational companies and foundations in the US and Europe.

In 2000, Jeremy founded BroadWater, Inc., a company focused on spine-related education and developing websites for spine physicians and companies. BroadWater has run more than 200 spine CME meetings worldwide. In 2007, BroadWater was acquired by Vertical Health, and Jeremy now oversees all medical content and strategic relationships for Vertical Health's sites.

Janice M. Thew
Chief Administrative Officer

Jan Thew oversees the financial and administrative functions of Vertical Health. After receiving her MBA from The University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Jan spent more than 15 years in corporate banking and corporate finance positions in various financial institutions and private equity firms in New York City. Jan is also co-founder of JETT Consulting Group, which provides financial and sales consulting services to small businesses in New Jersey.

She has also served on the Board of Directors for several non-profit civic, housing, and educational organizations for more than 10 years.

Ownership
SpineUniverse is owned by Vertical Health, LLC. Vertical Health is incorporated in Delaware. Its primary location of business is:

Vertical Health, LLC
7 North Willow Street, Suite 7A
Montclair, NJ 07042

Ownership of Vertical Health is dispersed among multiple parties. Those parties that own more than 15% of the entity are:

• Ninth Avenue South Investments II, LLC, located in Naples, FL

No companies engaged in the development, production, or sales of medical implants or pharmaceuticals own any part of Vertical Health.

How SpineUniverse Generates Funding
We believe it's important to be transparent in how our website generates funding. SpineUniverse generates revenue from various commercial activities, including:

• the sale of banner advertisements, primarily to medical companies
• fees paid by physicians, medical practices, and healthcare institutions for listings in the Find a Spine Specialist tool
• fees paid for Sponsored Content, such as sponsored case studies and Technology Centers. (You can learn more about Sponsored Content in our Editorial Guidelines.)

The information on SpineUniverse is for educational purposes. It is not designed to replace the physician-patient relationship.

Last Updated:  October 10, 2011