Customer Stories
We asked our customers — your peers and colleagues — to tell us about their experiences working with Bankers Healthcare Group. Read their stories to find out why these healthcare professionals chose Bankers Healthcare Group over a traditional lender.
Starting Over: How one dentist rebuilt his practice
Dr. Rodney Leibowitz, DDS, New York City
Hurricane Sandy left little in her wake when she pounded the Atlantic coast in 2012. Directly in her destructive path was Dr. Rodney Leibowitz’s dental office in New York City.
“I lost it all,” Dr. Leibowitz recalls. “My entire office was completely destroyed.” Everything Dr. Leibowitz worked to establish the previous 34 years was gone in a flash—equipment, patient records, the office itself. Despite the tremendous challenge of rebuilding, he remained focused on one goal: Get back up and running as soon as possible to serve patients.
GETTING RE-STARTED
Initially, getting back to business as usual proved easier said than done. Dr. Leibowitz faced major obstacles with the insurance company, and needed money to rebuild—right down to putting up new sheet rock, electrical and plumbing—basically everything a dental office needs. While he had bits of financing here and there, he needed more—and fast. Every day that the office wasn’t repaired was another challenging day that made the actual work an incredibly hard chore.
“I was hurting, so I called Bankers Healthcare Group. I was able to secure a loan in two days,” Dr. Leibowitz says. “It was simple, it was quick, I had no issues, and I was able to start rebuilding my practice to where it was, and above and beyond before Sandy even occurred.”
“I lost my entire office and needed money to rebuild my practice.
I called BHG and got a loan in two days.”
BACK IN BUSINESS
Within a week after the storm, Dr. Leibowitz’s office was up and running again. He says his office wasn’t perfect by any means at that point, but it was a start, and he kept working on it, never closing for repairs.
Having access to financing in an extreme time of need enabled Dr. Leibowitz to rebuild his office from the ground up, a project that served as the launching pad to transforming his business into a state-of-the-art practice. Today, he has seven operatories and has grown his annual revenue by over $1 million more than before Hurricane Sandy.
“Getting a loan isn’t hard, but it can take up to six weeks with a traditional lender—and that’s six weeks of lost business,” Dr. Leibowitz says. “Whether it’s a crisis like Sandy or an expensive piece of equipment that breaks, every day without funding to make necessary repairs is lost time with patients.”
Registered Nurse prepares to leap from employee to independent practitioner
Ellen RN, Dayton, OH
With more than 30 years working as a registered nurse, Ellen (Dayton, Ohio) is on the road to retirement. From an army nurse during Operation Desert Storm to working for a government agency, she has an extensive resume and has had a fulfilling career, but isn’t quite ready to hang up her nurse’s hat just yet. “I want something to transition to when I retire,” she explains. “I would like to continue to work, but part-time and in a way that I can give back to the community.”
SEEKING INDEPENDENCE
Ellen currently works in a very specialized field and wanted to gain credentials that would give her a broader background so she could offer more services. She decided to pursue a second nursing degree and work toward becoming an independent nurse practitioner. This enabled her to treat patients at multiple healthcare facilities and maintain her own schedule.
Once she determined her second career path, she wrote a business plan. Before she could execute it, she needed to get her financing in order.
“When you want to ‘hang your shingle,’ there are a lot of startup costs you need to plan for, like certification exams, licenses, getting registered with insurances and the cost of education. I really wanted to have access to working capital without having to use a credit card,” she says.
THE SEARCH FOR FUNDING
Ellen first went to her bank, then a credit union. She says neither could fully meet her needs and she needed a better package. That’s when she took a closer look at a mailer she received from Bankers Healthcare Group.
“I like the fact that BHG focuses on the healthcare industry,” Ellen explains. “But the best thing about working with BHG is they’re very personal, answered every question and were willing to work with me. Business isn’t the thing I’m geared in, but I know that if you don’t have enough capital, it is very difficult to be successful.”
Ellen has a few years yet before fully committing herself to her new venture, but she says she’s looking forward to getting herself established as an independent practitioner in her community.
Entrepreneurial dentist reaps rewards with dental practice consolidation business
Dr. Ken Tralongo, DDS, Florida
Dr. Ken Tralongo is more than a dentist—he’s an entrepreneur dedicated to helping other dentists realize their dreams of building their careers. With more than 20 years’ experience acquiring and merging dental practices, Dr. Tralongo jumped at the opportunity to start a niche business in 2013 to help guide other entrepreneurial dentists through the process. At first, he balanced his time between treating patients and pursuing his new venture, but eventually committed himself full-time to consulting.
"Working with BHG is the best banking experience I’ve ever had."
His company, Tralongo, LLC, based in Atlanta and Sunrise, Fla., partners with dentists across the country to help them acquire existing dental offices and provide behind-the-scenes support, including financing management, marketing, HR management and ongoing education.
The process of acquiring a practice can be expensive and time consuming, but Tralongo strives to make it more efficient, cost-effective and, ultimately, profitable for the dentist. Tralongo’s model of growth through acquisition requires, of course, financial investments. “When I find a practice to buy, time is of the essence to get it closed. So when I’m working with a lender, I need the funds turned around as soon as possible,” he says.
Dr. Tralongo explains that he hasn’t borrowed money from a bank in more than 25 years, recalling times when traditional banks have declined loans if they feel acquisitions were made successively. The past several years, he’s worked with Bankers Healthcare Group for funding. “When we need funding quickly, we look to BHG to do it,” he says. “Speed is critical to my business and that’s what BHG brings.
“I need a partner that is aligned, focused, straightforward and fast. Working with BHG is the best banking experience I’ve ever had. It’s always a fast, no-nonsense customer-centered transaction,” Dr. Tralongo concludes.
Tralongo’s relationship with BHG has been so successful that the two have expanded their relationship through a partnership in which BHG provides financing options to Tralongo’s network of dentists looking to expand their footprint. Today, Tralongo has 80 dental offices across the country to support the company’s model of growth through acquisition and consolidation.
Dentist rides the waves of owning a business
Dr. Umekei Smith, DDS, Houston, TX
Many new dentists have the dream of opening their own practice. Fortunately, there are a lot of opportunities to make that dream a reality, like Dr. Umekei Smith did.
After completing dental school, Dr. Smith spent six years as an associate at two practices before deciding to take the plunge into practice ownership. In 2009, she opened US Dentistry (Houston), which she built from the ground up. Starting and maintaining any new business takes drive, determination, hard work—and funding.
Dr. Smith’s husband/office manager, started researching funding options, using Google to search terms like ‘capital funding for dentists,’ and ended up on the Bankers Healthcare Group website.
“We contacted BHG for a business loan to purchase supplies, technology, and equipment for my new practice,” Dr. Smith says. “BHG made the process fast and easy, so we were able to get the office ready quickly for seeing patients."
With her practice going well, Dr. Smith hired two associates; one who specialized in oral surgery, the other in root canals and cosmetic dentistry. As is true for any business, pains often come with growth, and Dr. Smith didn’t see an immediate profit that year. After re-evaluating the business model, she turned again to BHG for capital.
The funding helped US Dentistry do even more than originally intended. In addition to injecting the practice with additional cash to get through the challenging stretch, the funds also helped Dr. Smith to make necessary equipment upgrades.
“I’ve learned that equipment only lasts for so long or doesn't always work the way it should—and usually the need for repair or replacement happens at the most inopportune times,” Dr. Smith explains. “We ended up needing to make some updates sooner than we had anticipated, but having access to funding through BHG really helped us. As a practice owner, you need to plan for this type of ongoing expense.”
With the funds, Dr. Smith purchased digital x-ray sensors, hygiene equipment and a dental auto-clave. The office also received some necessary computer updates.
“When you get a loan, the plan is to pay it back. BHG’s terms are organized in a way that makes repayment very easy. It also helped us budget for the future.”