Firm makes health-services time efficient

This year is working out to be a milestone event for Chesapeake-based Taylor Made Diagnostics Inc. The health-services company is celebrating not only its 20th anniversary but also being named Chesapeake Economic Development Authority’s 2015 Business of the Year. “This is a huge honor,” says Caroline Taylor, the company’s president, who is a registered nurse. “We have always been a big partner with the city and an advocate for revitalization in our area.”

The company has an occupational health clinic and mobile medical teams providing services ranging from drug testing and hearing testing to physicals and injections. Taylor Made says it can reduce the amount of time an employee is away from the office for medical appointments from three hours to about 30 minutes.

“We are equipped with a four-person hearing booth, for example, so we can test four people at a time, and it only takes 10 minutes,” Taylor says. “We can get compliance requirements met in a timely fashion. It’s highly efficient.”

Taylor Made focuses solely on industrial medicine. “We are true to our core. We only take care of employees under the employer, and we have streamlined the process,” Taylor says. “We are a strong one-stop shop.”

The physicals it performs are industry specific. “Our employees are very knowledgeable, and they are certified in performing industry-specific exams,” Taylor says.

Since its founding in 1995, the company’s customer base has grown to more than 1,000 businesses. It works with federal and state governments, city governments, commercial customers and local businesses, such as a private shipyard. It was recently awarded a contract from Virginia’s Department of Military Affairs.

“We are a small business with a national presence and a network of providers,” Taylor says, adding the company has developed a third-party administration program with medical practices throughout the country. The program is aimed at customers with offices nationwide. “We establish a relationship, negotiate the contract and make sure all the components are in place. We make sure that everybody has services in the cities and sites where they work.”

Taylor Made’s revenue rose 30 percent in 2014 over the previous year. “We continue to grow,” Taylor says, noting that the company now has 19 employees. “Many of those have been with us for more than 10 years.”

The company moved into its headquarters in the Gateway at SoNo complex in 2009. This year it began using a new, 30-foot mobile unit with X-ray capabilities.

One of the company’s principles involves being a good community partner. Taylor Made supports many local charities, including the HER (Help and Emergency Response) Shelter. “I work and live in Chesapeake and what we do matters significantly in the community,” Taylor says.