ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604120003
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA P. SMITH STAFF WRITER
Fred Murko, who started Virginia Prosthetics in 1966, believed the secret ingredient to success of a business was treating others "as you want to be treated."
The things Murko initiated were excellent service and proper follow-up care, said Doug Call, who bought Virginia Prosthetics from Murko in 1992.
"There is some psychological trauma when a person loses a limb or when a person is told that he or she will have to wear a brace possibly for the rest of his or her life. [We believe in] treating those patients very compassionately..."
This dedication to good service is one of the keys to Virginia Prosthetics' success among competition in West Virginia, Southwest Virginia and northern North Carolina. Other keys are word-of-mouth advertising and direct marketing to physicians.
"Marketing to patients is what we would call unethical," Call said. "Any marketing we do is strictly through referral services, such as the physicians."
Virginia Prosthetics also does referrals. For instance, if patients need cosmetic prosthetics, such as an ear or nose, Call and his practitioners refer them to another facility in either Texas or at Duke University.
"We don't tend to do many cosmetic prosthetics, we've only done about three or four cases a year, so we refer them to a facility that does that on a regular basis."
This is not to take away from the facilities and capability of Virginia Prosthetics, which went through two expansions in the past few years to make room for a computer system and the new prosthetics technologies.
Remaining on Williamson Road, where the business was started, he said, also adds stability.
"We had considered moving to Southwest County, but we have patients who drive three or four hours for our services, and stability being a major issue in business, we thought about it and decided we wanted to stay in this area," Call said.
Williamson Road is a perfect location, situated between downtown and the airport. And it can be made very nice, if the city acts responsibly and solicits good-quality businesses to come to the area, Call said.
Call said he believes the company will have to grow consistently to survive, but he doesn't want it to grow at a pace where he can't maintain good quality control.
Managed care is creating some anxiety for Call. "I don't like to think about money when I see a patient, but managed care has encouraged us to look at providing our services in a more profitable manner."
This has not stopped Call and his practitioners from accepting people who have no means of paying for services. Money is not an issue in these situations, he said.
"When you see an 11- or 12-month-old who doesn't have a leg and you fit him or her with an artificial limb and within a matter of weeks [the child is] running on it, it is just a fantastic feeling," Call said.
Virginia Prosthetics
4338 Williamson Road
366-8287
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB