The health care public affairs pros at Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock in Brentwood had themselves a fine 2012, growing revenues by 27 percent to $4.9 million. That lifted the seven-year-old firm to 11th on trade pub O'Dwyer's list of health care PR firms, ahead of other locals ReviveHealth, Dye Van Mol & Lawrence, McNeely Pigott & Fox and Katcher Vaughn & Bailey. Jarrard and other health care specialists are in a sweet spot given the upheaval in the industry, evidenced by the firm working on $15 billion worth of M&A deals last year.

“What’s happening in the industry is by definition well outside the experience of most hospital and physician leaders,” President David Jarrard told O'Dwyer's. “Our experience helps them during this period of disruption.”

A survey of more than 200 local health care leaders by the Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock public affairs firm offers an interesting, albeit skeptical, take on the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. More than half think the upcoming presidential election will do little more than “muddy the waters” as each party seeks to make the ruling a referendum on its agenda. Another 34 percent predict the act will stall in the Senate next year.

Perhaps most meaningfully, the majority of those surveyed — 73 percent — won’t make any budgetary or operational decisions based on what’s been decided thus far. A few other things should occur, though. About two-thirds say the “bigger is better” mantra will continue as consolidations and acquisitions across the industry are expected.

The bottom line is that, overall, little clarity was achieved by the ruling as the political process must now iron itself out, the respondents indicated. Click here for the survey’s details.

Health care public affairs firm Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock has recruited a veteran hospital PR executive from North Carolina. The addition of Tim Strickland, who had worked for six years at a 162-bed hospital, comes shortly after Jarrard added former Tennessean Managing Editor Dave Green, graphic and Web designer Ian Petty and advisor Emily Walling. In addition, former staffer Kristen Hayner will return to the firm next month after taking some time off following the birth of her child.

It's not all been one-way traffic at Jarrard, though. Alan Taylor, who had joined the firm in early 2010 (also from North Carolina), moved on to new things earlier this summer. The firm now has 20 people on staff.