Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Carter.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Sterling Staffing Solutions started in the Fall of 2011 with one physical therapist, our co-founder Dr. Sterling L. Carter. We began with one home health agency client contract for services and serviced 2 patients twice a week for our first month on the southwest side of Houston…a grand total of 16 visits.
In June 2017, Sterling Staffing Solutions completed over 5,000 rehabilitative visits. Expanding from just providing physical therapy to the provision of occupational therapy, speech therapy, social worker services, skilled nursing as well as dietary services. We now operate in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City with plans to expand into Austin, San Antonio, and Indianapolis within the next 60-90 days. Sterling Staffing Solutions services 332 clients which include home health agencies, hospices, rehab hospitals and outpatient therapy clinics.
We’ve grown from $50K Gross Revenue in 2011 to approximately $3.5M in 2016 and on track to exceed $4.5M in 2017. Our staff of clinicians has grown from 3 in 2011 to over 800 licensed clinicians who provide quality care to our patients throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Our peers have deemed us the fastest growing medical therapy company in Texas. In 2017 alone, Sterling Staffing Solutions is fortunate to have won the 2017 ABA Gold Stevie Award, 2017 Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Privately Held Company, 2017 BBB Pinnacle Award Winner, 2017 GHBC Pinnacle Award Winner and 2017 Black Enterprise Family Business of The Year Finalist.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Sterling Staffing Solutions has strived to become successful in a very saturated and fraud-ridden medical market place. Houston has been ranked as one of the top cities for Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Due to this fact, ourselves and our clients are under an extreme amount of scrutiny from governmental regulatory bodies. We find our clients closing their doors, filing bankruptcy, and abandoning their business at an astonishing rate leaving service providers like ourselves being left with unpaid invoices and high-interest charges used to finance our client’s bad debt.
Focused on manageable and measured growth, we made a decision early on to not grow by any means necessary. We paid very careful attention to the market and implemented new client background investigations that weeded out the businesses that were most likely to not pay their bills.
Additionally, we implemented strategies with our clients to help them collect from their payers faster by providing accurate and clear records which allowed for expedited payment processing. We also implemented quicker payment options such as ACH, Direct Deposit, Credit Card and even pre-payments for high-risk clients.
All of these strategies have led to a percentage of writes offs in the 1-2% range compared to an industry average of 3-5%.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sterling Staffing Solutions – what should we know?
Sterling Staffing Solutions provides health care staffing for five primary disciplines: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Social Work and Skilled Nursing. We currently have over 800 contracted clinician that are working for us in some capacity. We are currently contracted with 300+ clients throughout Texas and Oklahoma areas including the Greater metropolitan and rural areas surrounding Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Sterling Staffing Solutions is contracted with 271 of the 794 total Medicaid certified home health agencies in the Greater Houston area (dads.state.tx.us).
We specialize in providing medical staffing services to home health agencies, hospices and rehab hospitals with our carefully selected top clinicians who possess the right skills, training, license, personality and abilities to make a positive impact on their work environment and their patients.
Most Home Health Agencies have contracts with Medicare, Medicaid or other Private Insurance Payers and provide in home therapy for the disabled or invalid citizens who do not have the physical, social or mental capacity to undergo therapy services in a outpatient facility but rather at their homes. We have recently branched in to providing medical staffing to the education arena as well: primary, secondary, and collegiate levels.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My business partner, co-founder, and twin brother Dr. Sterling L. Carter is the visionary of the business. We collaborated in 2011 to develop the business structure that you see today. Dr. Clinician is the clinical expert and I am the strategic operational expert. We’ve had uniquely combined their two specialties – business management and clinical expertise – into a growing business. Our mother, who basically raised the two of us on her own, was an example of work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit, and tenacity. She always operated a small business in addition to her full-time job elsewhere. She showed us the true value of persistence and perseverance.
Our cheerleaders have most definitely been our wives. Daphane Carter – Stephen’s wife. Crystal Carter – Sterling’s wife. Both have stood by the sides of their husbands through the thick and then of business ownership. Tyrone J. Dixon, serial entrepreneur, employed Stephen as a Director of Finance for his technical consulting firm. This opportunity was Stephen’s first introduction to staffing. Mr. Dixon has been a mentor and confidant to Stephen throughout his career.
Pricing:
- Physical Therapy – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $75 – $95
- Occupational Therapy – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $75 – $95
- Speech Therapy – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $90 – $110
- Social Worker Services – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $90 – $110
- Registered Nurses – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $65 – $110
- Licensed Vocational Nurses – PRN (As Needed) Per Eval/ Visit Rate: $50 – $75
Contact Info:
- Address: Sterling Staffing Solutions
14140 Southwest Freeway Suite 100
Sugar Land, Texas 77478 - Website: www.sterlingstaffingsolutions.com
- Phone: 281-240-3536
- Email: staffing@sterlingtherapy.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SterlingStaffingSolutions/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sterlingstaffs/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sterling-staffing-solutions-sugar-land
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sterling-staffing-solutions-llc
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
