Today we’d like to introduce you to David Woolsey and Ramon Cazares.
David and Ramon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
David: I have been performing ultrasounds in the DFW area for over 27 years, starting out at Harris Methodist Fort Worth. After spending 10 years there and taking call at numerous other facilities, I approached a colleague of mine to start a company of sonographers (ultrasound techs) to serve the DFW area facilities… Darren Ladner and I formed D2 Imaging in 2000, where we built a successful business with some great employees. My wife, Crystal Woolsey, some hard workers that believed in us, Ramon Cazares and Nathan Harden, and my sister Amelia Woolsey, formed the nucleus of the company. After an unfortunate bicycle accident to Darren led to our decision to sell the company to one of the offers we had received, due to our success, at the end of the year 2008.
Fast forward to late 2012, after leaving a national ultrasound systems manufacturer, where I met some great people and where I gained additional, valuable knowledge about the world of ultrasound, we found ourselves ready to jump back into providing the best, most reliable ultrasound services to the facilities of the DFW area and their patients. I had heard from many of my former clients and area facilities of different companies overpromising and under delivering, in regards to providing ultrasound services 24/7. My wife Crystal and remember my former employee, Ramon Cazares, we partnered up and started Integrated Ultrasound Consultants.
Ramon is one of the hardest working and most knowledgeable sonographers in the area, his 16+ years in ultrasound lead him to his current position as President of Diagnostics. His main focus is training the employees for each facility, as each facility has its own protocol. Crystal is our Operations Director and the glue which holds our company together. She is in charge of all the scheduling and credentialing for all of our employees and facilities. Together, we have built a company run by sonographers, as each of us wear many hats, as well as scan. We take pride in hiring the very best, most experienced sonographers, vetting and researching prospective employees is not just sales talk or something we take lightly…we make sure that the people we utilize uphold our core values of providing the best, most reliable, ultrasound services, while still delivering compassionate care. We don’t hire warm bodies just to fulfill a contract.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
David: Nothing worth building and being proud of is a smooth path, the obstacles and the struggles along the way make the company stronger and everyone involved thankful for what we have. I found out who my true friends were and the true colors of some others. We have had many struggles along the way, whether it was finding the right employees or turning down opportunities due to not having the work force to cover it effectively. Competitors that don’t understand the value of hiring experienced/reliable sonographers and instead just hire warm bodies to do the work, thereby offering lower pricing to the facilities, only to lose those facilities due to the poor quality of work or slow response times. Our challenge is to show that there is a value to the service we provide that is not solely based on the bottom line. Healthcare cannot be solely based on numbers, at the end of the day, we are all on the same team in making sure the patient gets the best care possible.
Integrated Ultrasound Consultants – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
David: We provide diagnostic ultrasound to various facilities, clinics, and offices, in the DFW area. This service ranges anywhere from full 24/7/365 coverage to schedule outpatients in clinics and offices. We are able to perform a wide variety of ultrasound exams, vascular exams looking at the arteries and veins, cardiac exams-examining the heart, abdominal and pelvic studies, thyroid, etc. As you can see, ultrasound is not just taking pictures of an unborn baby. Personally, I also perform transcranial dopplers, which tracks the arteries in the brain.
Formerly, I was adjunct instructor at Weatherford College for transcranial doppler and have since moved to the new ultrasound program at Tarrant County College, where I also serve on the Advisory Board and Interview Committee. In addition to those exams, I also perform musculoskeletal ultrasounds, which utilizes the ultrasound system to exam joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and to guide injections into these areas. I provide these services with my other company, Integrated MSK, where not only do I provide musculoskeletal ultrasound, but I sell platelet rich plasma and stem cell kits, as well as ultrasound systems. The platelet rich plasma or PRP, as it is commonly known as, is a field in which I believe has a great future an avenue that people can choose to be treated with their own blood to repair and in some cases, avoid or delay surgery. This field affords me the opportunity to work with some of the area’s leading and forward thinking physicians.
Ramon: I’m always there to train our employees and being there when they have any difficulties at any of our facilities, day or night. Keeping a good relationship with our clients is part of my day to day activities, on top of any protocol changes that are initiated.
We take great pride in providing a great place to work for sonographers. Since we are all sonographers, we understand the problems that one would run into and we always strive for everyone to have a good balance of work and life. Our full timers are free to take care of their daily errands, but must be available when they are called upon. We guarantee them 40 hours/ week, so that takes the stress off of them of having to do “X” amount of exams per day. After hours, we cover multiple facilities and we are blessed to have such a great group of PRN or “as needed” contractors.
The thing that sets us apart from all the others is that we do exactly what we say we will do. We never over promise and under deliver, when it comes to our service. We show up on time, provide quality exams, all while being professional and compassionate.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
David: Success used to mean, great cars, fancy dinners, nice clothes, but now, utilizing my time to be with my family, help coach my daughter’s volleyball and basketball teams, just being present in her life and I am blessed that my position affords my family this great luxury. Don’t get me wrong, I still love fast cars and a good meal, as Ramon and I have started moving into selling luxury cars in the near future. As long as the work gets done, I get family time, and I get to train Brazilian Jujitsu/workout on occasion, I can’t ask for much more than that. Well, another Championship for the LSU Tigers football team would be nice!
Ramon: My family has been the motor to my success, they are what drives my passion in the medical field. Being a “people” person, has opened many doors for our company to continue to grow at such a rapid pace.
Contact Info:
- Address: Integrated Ultrasound Consultants, Inc.
6913 Camp Bowie Blvd. Ste 115
Fort Worth, TX 76116 - Website: integratedultrasound.com and integratedmsk.com
- Phone: 817-886-0736
- Email: david.woolsey@integratedultrasound.com
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