Fighting Diabetes and a Bad Economy at the Same Time
In the quaint little town of Sierra Madre, one growing business just joined the ranks of companies such as Microsoft and Oracle. By helping hospitals all over the country, Wound Care Advantage has reached #316 on Inc. Magazine’s “500” list of the nation’s fastest-‐growing companies. The recognition comes despite a volatile healthcare industry and down economy. They were ranked #1,190 just one year ago and are the only wound care company to make the 2011 list. Wound Care Advantage is thriving by helping hospitals keep their doors open to fight the crippling complications of a deadly disease -‐ diabetes.
According to the Center for Disease Control, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death. Currently, 60 million Americans are prediabetic. Diabetes and other growing conditions are leading to chronic wounds. Chronic wounds affect more patients than heart attack and stroke victims combined. These non‐healing wounds account for $20 billion in healthcare expenditures and over 150,000 amputations every year. Wound care centers around the country are being overwhelmed with this challenge as the recession and an unpredictable industry give them a run for their money.
Wound Care Advantage is helping these medical centers fight back by providing them with financial planning, management, and marketing, as well as equipment and training on new wound healing techniques. WCA’s hospitals retain some of the highest profit margins in the industry while simultaneously healing patients faster than ever before.
The company’s success is in large part due to their emphasis on technology. The company’s implementation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy among other techniques has achieved an average healing time of 34 days for wounds that traditionally took months to heal or resulted in amputation. Their Cloud Wound Care technology has cut costs and improved efficiency; it puts everything from electronic medical records to financial statistics at the fingertips of administrators in real time.
Founder and CEO of Wound Care Advantage, Mike Comer is a former volunteer on the SMFD.
The Founder and CEO behind this small town powerhouse is Mike Comer. Comer has rapidly expanded his company with experience, vision, and passion. “Over 50% of patients who receive an amputation die within five years,” says Comer, “We founded WCA to heal these wounds before amputations are necessary.” The team’s passion for partnering with community hospitals and helping patients heal is apparent on the company’s website. One webpage boldly displays “SixRules to Live (or Work) By,” which include rules such as “We should earn your business every day” and “We must do well, in order to do good.” Wound Care Advantage is doing very well by doing a lot of good for a whole lot of people.
Whether it’s their website, technology, or ten year track record, this small town company is making a big noise by climbing 874 spots in just one year to rank at 316 on the Inc. 500. Comer states, “If you happen to be by our office, drop in at 316, we will be popping champagne.”
Wound Care Advantage is a healthcare management company founded in 2002, focused on the development and management of outpatient wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapies for community hospitals. The company’s business is centered on empowering hospitals with their own wound care programs and delivering the best care for patient healing. To learn more about WCA, please visit www.TheWCA.com.