Yesterday, we welcomed Chris Byers and Mike Salaway, 1989 Monmouth College graduates and entrepreneurs in Central Illinois to our class. Both Chris and Mike earned degrees from Monmouth and then Physical Therapy degrees before launching their careers. Each had been successful in their own ventures before realizing they shared a similar vision for how to provide the best rehabilitation and sports medicine service. Of course they were friends at Monmouth College too. The network of common friends and philosophy resulted in a great partnership that grew from one clinic in 1997 to nine clinics in 2010. See the link to their website for more information on their successful company :
http://www.advrehab.com/about-us/about-us.html
Chris talked about the medical doctor that was their “angel investor” when they started since they did not have the start up capital to aggressively launch the clinics. They were grateful for his involvement that made the business possible. But this angel wasn’t always helpful. This silent partner who owned 51% of their business until 2006, let Mike and Chris sweat out every monthly payroll in the first few years as their full-time staff grew to 60 physical therapists and about 60 professional staff. Philosophically, they differed in their approach and what they believed to be ethical and fair. Chris and Mike differed from their investor in their approach to patient care and how to train and handle staff. One example is the way Advanced provides incentives for profitable clinics. “in the early days, everyone in health care didn’t pay much attention to cancellations or a poor repeat visit record. We track those metrics and reward our staff based on hitting certain numbers or thresholds. One key metric is customer satisfaction and willingness to refer us to their friends and neighbors.” We had a philosophy about patient care, too. One thing we found is when the the therapist sits down with the patient (rather than standing while they are talking) and spends a few extra minutes listening the patient will respond much more positively than if they are hurried in and out.” One big issue is the new health care legislation and the poor rates of medicare reimbursement. Advance has had to adjust to a myriad of changes in how insurance and healthcare is billed and collected. “We could depend in the past that for every $100 we billed, we would get $85 back in payment for our services.” Now we collect less than 40% with the usual and customary charge adjustments from insurance companies and reduced medicare payments. “We don’t know what will hapen in the future, but it is too hard to predict.”
Advanced has been successful in three key ways: 1. They focused on smaller towns and hired people with strong local ties and contacts. 2. They worked closely with other health care providers as an outsourced solution and revenue source. One example is their management of Cottage Hospital’s PT services. 3. They worked with their patients so that they could afford their co-pays and deductibles.
“Workman’s comp is another key area of our business because so much of our marketing is tied to physicians and their practices. We depend on their referrals and referrals from sports coaches and trainers”
Chris and Mike are paying back their good fortune to Monmouth College too. “We sponsored the new football scoreboard and we have hired 15 Monmouth graduates in various staff positions.” Despite the unclear future, it was obvious they love what they are doing. As Monmouth College looks to begin construction on a new science and business building, Chris Byers and Mike Salaway are perfect examples of why these two disciplines belong together.
