When a company calls itself VeloSource, you expect speed and precision, not excuses. And on September 11, 2025, they proved the name fits. The St. Louis firm that’s been supplying hospitals with physicians and advanced practitioners since 2015 just secured a strategic growth investment from Interlock Equity, the Los Angeles private equity shop with $390 million of dry powder and a habit of picking winners.
This wasn’t built overnight. VeloSource was founded by Patrick Donovan and Jeff Schaal, two guys who didn’t just study the locum tenens game, they practically wrote the unwritten rules. Donovan has been in healthcare staffing since the late eighties, even running the National Association of Locum Tenens Organization back in 2008. Schaal brings more than twenty-three years of experience and now runs the company as CEO. Together, they created a model that hospitals and health systems can actually rely on: contingency-based, non-exclusive placements, transparent communication, DocuSign-powered speed, and a credentialing process so rigorous it makes bureaucracy look lazy.
That formula has earned them partnerships with heavyweights like BJC Healthcare and a 2025 nod from Staffing Industry Analysts as one of the Best Staffing Firms to Work For. Recognition like that doesn’t come from spin, it comes from employees who know they’re part of something real.
Now Interlock Equity enters the picture. With Managing Directors Rob Zielinski and Mike Orend expected to join the board, this isn’t just about cutting a check. It’s about scaling a people-powered business without ripping out the culture. Their portfolio already includes Apply Digital, Investor Group Services, and Lovelytics, and VeloSource fits right into their wheelhouse: knowledge-based companies with room to scale big.
The market context is impossible to ignore. Locum tenens staffing is an $11 billion business today, projected to hit $24 billion by 2035. Nearly nine out of ten healthcare organizations already rely on temporary coverage to keep the lights on. VeloSource plans to capture more of that wave by pushing its tech platform further, integrating with major VMS and MSP systems, and strengthening compliance and analytics under leaders like Vice President of Risk and Quality Assurance, Kelly Hetterman.
With Patrick Donovan shifting to a board role and Jeff Schaal continuing as CEO alongside executives John S. Daniel, Donna Mell, Scott Pliske, Christina Marks, and Madison Morgan, the company is locked in for its next phase. What started in St. Louis has grown into a nationwide network, and with Interlock’s backing, the gears are about to spin faster.
