Bloomington-based Universal Hospital Services Inc. reported a net loss of $66.5 million on revenue of $436.7 million for 2014. At the same time, the company announced that Tom Leonard has been tapped as the company’s new CEO, effective April 13. Leonard will also serve on the UHS board of directors. Both announcements were made on Monday afternoon.
 
Previous CEO Gary Blackford, a 12-year veteran of UHS, announced his plans to leave the company in August 2014. At the time, no reason was given for Blackford’s departure.
 
UHS provides rental, sales, technical support and related services for medical equipment with 83 service centers across the U.S.
 
In recent years, the company has struggled to show a profit. From 2010 through 2014, UHS lost more than $196 million, according to its latest annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
The company’s 2014 revenue reflected a 1.9 percent gain compared to 2013. The company also reported solid cash flow with adjusted Earnings Before Income Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of $119.7 million last year, nearly identical to the $119.6 million in adjusted EBITDA for 2013.
 
Leonard previously led the $2.4 billion medical device division for San Diego-based CareFusion Corp. (Just last week, New Jersey-based Becton, Dickinson and Co. completed its acquisition of CareFusion.)
 
New York-based Irving Place Capital, a private equity firm, became the largest investor in UHS in 2007.
 
“The board has been working to identify a leader who can build on UHS’ success and capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Robert Juneja, senior advisor to Irving Place Capital and a member of the UHS board of directors, in a statement announcing Leonard as CEO. “We are confident that Tom will be able to hit the ground running and help UHS drive growth and create value in the years to come.”
 
According to the company’s annual filing, UHS had 2,304 employees at the end of 2014. UHS traces its history to 1939, when Clara Fish founded ABC Oxygen Tent Rental in Minneapolis.