Lyndora business gives customers Just What the Doctor Ordered
LYNDORA — Just What the Doctor Ordered is on the fast track despite the economy of the past few years.
But when Cate Graham started the business in 1995, she didn't plan on retail sales and she didn't expect the company to become a supplier for Pennsylvania prisons.
Cate, her husband Albert and their son Barrett work together in the business.
When customers enter the store, they discover a broad array of merchandise. Displays of splints and braces, orthopedic shoes, scrubs and Klogs nursing shoes, urological products, canes, wheelchairs and specialty band aids are some of the products seen.
The store's certified fitters can help customers buy medical hosiery, and “leg wellness days” are one way the company offers community health education.
Red dinnerware and silverware for individuals with Alzheimer's are new to their stock. The attention-getting color reminds them to eat.
Cate started the company with experience from selling ostomy and urological supplies, being a product specialist for wound care and serving as a sales trainer for a first aid and safety company. She has worked in health businesses for nearly 40 years.
“We didn't go after the usual,” Cate said. “We started with a specialty in wound care.
“It was very calculated on people's requests. I went after the things that are hard to find.”
Among the hard-to-find products the Grahams manage to locate are discontinued items. They are so good at this they are a phone center for Johnson & Johnson and handle mail orders nationwide.
“We are doing things right. It comes down to service,” said Cate.
An example of the strong service orientation of the company is its relationship with Bonnie Diver-Hall's Hair Peace Charities. The foundation helps women buy wigs they need because of cancer treatment.
The business has a private room where women can try on samples from a selection of wigs. The caring attention given there encourages the customers, and when appropriate, the staff can refer women to the charity.
Just What the Doctor Ordered also shares business. For example, the store does not sell mastectomy supplies such as breast forms and bras with pockets for prosthetics.
“We refer everything to Evans City Pharmacy,” said Albert. “They have certified fitters there.”
“We've been blessed by all the drug stores and we refer back,” said Cate.
The Grahams said business growth has been good, but they have had to reinvest in the infrastructure of the company.
“Changes in health care dramatically changed how we do business,” said Cate.
One of the results of health care change was that it became cost prohibitive to do business with insurance and Medicare.To work with them, Barrett said the store would need more staff for billing and accounts receivable. Also, payments may be delayed and claims can be denied for many reasons.“We chose to go from insurance to cash-and-carry,” said Barrett. “We made it affordable for customers to come in and purchase. From a retail standpoint, that has been important in our expansion.”In 2008, the company pursued minority business status. Becoming a certified agency with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council revealed new opportunities.The company stretched to serve other markets including assisted living facilities, personal care homes and some state health care facilities.When Wexford Health Sources, a company that provides staffing and services for correctional health care, was awarded the Pennsylvania state correctional contract, they sought out Just What the Doctor Ordered to become a subcontractor. Wexford Health Sources' contract required them to include minority businesses.The store now is the medical supplies company for Pennsylvania's state correctional facilities under Wexford Health Sources.“Because of our reputation with the state of Pennsylvania, we have other companies that have showed some interest,” said Barrett. “We are now shipping some items to other correctional facilities.”Prisons in Illinois, Maryland, West Virginia, Mississippi and Florida now work with the business.“We doubled employees,” said Barrett.Before joining the business, Albert was a purchasing manager in the plastic industry. He uses his purchasing expertise and his attention to detail in billing and in working with the state to deal with the newer business.Barrett is exploring cost-effective marketing and his background is critical for the company's growth. He has a marketing degree and is working on a master's degree in business administration.Cate said the staff has a shared passion.“They are incredible,” said Albert.He said many of their employees are young and learning information they cannot learn in college.“They just absorb it and take it all in. It's amazing the knowledge here and they take it back to the class,” said Albert.The changes in health care in the past 15 years have had a major impact on stores selling health-related products. The Grahams work according to their motto of “doing business the old-fashioned way” and the company keeps growing.“We are kind of like an octopus. We have our tentacles in everything,” said Barrett. “You have to adapt to change or you won't be in business.”
<B>Address: </B>350 Hansen Plaza, Lyndora<B>Owner: </B>Cate Graham<B>Website: </B>www.jwtdomed.com<B>Employees: </B>13<B>What it does: </B>It is a medical supplies hybrid company with retail sales and a phone center for hard-to-find, discontinued and specialty medical supplies.<B>Mission: </B>“Everything about us is service.”
