One Inner City Firm Growing from "Heart, Soul and Customer Service”

With the 2012 Inner City 100 nominating season upon us, it is always great to share stories about our past winners who are giving back to their community as well as growing at astounding rates.  Our firms, from San Diego to Manchester and Anchorage to Miami, are transforming their communities by expanding their operations and making themselves integral pillars of their urban communities.  Inner City 100 firms have acted as shining examples of how growing enterprises can act as responsible corporate citizens that mend communities through profitability and action.

This brings us to Beth Bailey of The Pediatric Connection.  Beth founded The Pediatric Connection (TPC) in Richmond, Virginia with her partner, Bruce Green, in 1999. The company provides equipment, supplies and home nursing services to sick, generally respiratory-dependent, children in Virginia and Georgia. Her evolution into at-home care for children began with her self-realization of how much she enjoyed taking care of kids and her belief that a child will recuperate better in the comfort of his or her own home rather than a hospital setting.  The company appeared on the 2011 Inner City 100.

The company started with a staff of five, accepted any patient seeking help and did not commit its clientele into contracts. The TPC team focused on excellent customer service and believed that such a practice would lead to eventual growth and success. After about three years in a start-up mentality, Beth stepped back and started to take contracts and manage the company’s rapid growth.  Over the past five years, the company has had 11% year-over-year growth in spite of the difficult economic backdrop.  Beth attributes TPC’s rapid growth to “heart, soul and customer service.”

Many home care companies have technicians, but TPC specifically hires technicians that are neonatal and pediatric respiratory specialists. There are plenty of adult home care companies, but TPC is distinguished by its deep expertise in the pediatric market. Indeed, the entire TPC staff is hired and trained to be highly responsive to the needs of the families they serve, with a focus on empathy at every level of the company.  This empathy for patients and their parents has established a customer-centric corporate identity that has led to inordinate growth.

Beth did not start TPC with the goal of creating a high-growth company, but has been pleasantly surprised by its rapid expansion. The company has expanded out of inner city Richmond to include coverage in Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and Augusta, Georgia.  “To have something from your heart grow as a business has been perfect,” reflects Beth.

The Pediatric Connection has been able to create value for its community by leveraging its proximity to Virginia Commonwealth University’s teaching hospital.  Referrals from VCU have led to numerous patients and qualified nurses for TPC.  The company also has a respiratory internship with a local community college that allows students to spend time in the field of pediatric home care.

As a result of the company’s outstanding performance, Beth and the TPC team have given back to the community in a fashion that commands admiration.  TPC’s community initiatives are impressive, and the company has received many accolades for its local involvement and as an excellent place to work.  Among the community ventures TPC supports are: monthly dinners for the homeless at a nearby soup kitchen; holiday gift/family sponsorship programs; local road races for children illness charities and back-to-school supply programs.  Beth’s favorite initiative is the annual Make a Difference Day, in which TPC serves the families of its children. This past October, all of the mothers of children in TPC’s care were invited to company headquarters, where they were given manicures, facials and massages and treated to great meals and entertainment.

TPC was recognized in 2011 for the first time on the Inner City 100 list.  If you are interested in nominating a high growth inner city company from your network, you can find the nomination form online.  Comment with companies creating value in your community.

BY Alex Rodriguez on September 8th, 2011

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