The Image Makers

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“What your readers need to realize,” he says, “is that we have to put enormous amounts of revenue back into our equipment every year. An MRI, for example, costs up to $1.6 million, a PET scanner $1.5 million and a linear accelerator about $2.5 million. We have to generate large revenues just to keep up.”

Since Zimmerman founded the company in 1917, RAS has been physician-owned, and that structure continues today. Fifty-one of the 64 physicians working at the company are shareholders. The other 13 will become shareholders once they have worked for the company for two years.

PHYSICIAN, MANAGE THYSELF

Gaschen says the doctor-owner aspect of the business has great advantages. “The doctors want control over how they deliver services. They do not want to be beholden to anyone. They want to own their equipment and practice medicine the way they feel is best,” he says. “That’s why the RAS model is built on more than just profit and loss. I feel that is a big reason for our success. Our patients can feel the difference. We care about them, and they know that.”

The RAS board of directors is made up of  the physicians owners. Much of the organizational direction is set by the RAS board of directors, which is overseen by the group’s 12-member executive committee. The executive committee meets weekly. Employees of the company, including the physicians, are paid salaries commensurate with their positions, while the shareholder physicians also receive some of their compensation from the technical piece of the business. The shares must be sold back to the company at book value if a physician leaves the company for any reason.

Gaschen says the doctors at RAS keep things in perspective. “These are enlightened physicians,” he says. “They realize this is a big business. They’ve given me the freedom to run things the way I see fit. I’ve been able to put my imprint on the company. Basically, we have two customers, our patients and the referring doctors. My philosophy is, if we take care of my employees, they will take care of our customers. So far, that seems to be working pretty well.”

This summer RAS was selected as the Top Leadership Team in Healthcare by HealthLeaders Media, a group sponsored by medical consultants. It is one of many such awards RAS has racked up under Gaschen’s watch. The company provides about 11 percent of each employee’s salary with a contribution to 401(k) programs. Medical benefits are top tier, as are vacations and other programs.

The company also provides incentives for employees to enrich their education, and it pays for tuition, books and board for students attending a host of accredited radiology schools. In exchange, the students must agree to work for RAS for at least two years upon graduation.

Kathy Dunlap, the chief operating officer of the Radiation Oncology Division, says the benefits go even deeper.  Dunlap started with the company in 1976 as a billing clerk. Over the next 30 years, she was encouraged to attend school on the company’s time, and she ultimately gained a degree in health administration. She rose through the ranks, holding several jobs before gaining her current position.

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