Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Ismael Roque-Velasco.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
During medical school, I spent my summers working for an HMO; upon becoming a physician, I was offered a full-time position at the same HMO, at the time named CAC Ramsay. While at CAC Ramsay, I was given the opportunity to provide emergency access to the 180,000 plan members while providing cost-saving solutions and implement several capitated agreements for DME, HHC, Diagnostic Services, and some medical specialties. This was not only a great opportunity but one of the most beautiful and rewarding experiences at the start of my career, building a quality company, taking the company public, and selling to a major healthcare player. This initial career experience broadened my vision of the endless opportunities the healthcare industry has to offer, inspiring me to establish a niche company that provides healthcare services to crew members of large cruise lines worldwide. Upon selling that company, I again became involved with an HMO, this time a startup, which we grew to 40,000 lives.
While running their hospital division, I was offered another opportunity to run a rehab hospital system and later an acute hospital. Throughout my career, I always used hospice services as a complement to our healthcare delivery system. The breakthrough moment came when my eldest son had begun working for a hospice company established in 1991. He identified a window of opportunity for a small company with a minimal footprint in our community with endless possibilities. This company sparked my interest, and I began having conversations with then Hospice Care of South Florida, and soon thereafter, we took over the Board, providing a new mission and vision to a stagnant company. Under our leadership, we rebranded the company and brought new energy and morale to the staff. We quickly grew the company to the second-largest hospice and palliative care provider in South Florida and expanded our service areas to three counties in Texas, and soon we will open the first free-standing hospice facility in South Florida.
Has it been a smooth road?
In the beginning, we put together a team of professionals with much experience in the healthcare industry, but none were hospice specific experience. Together, this team brought an innovative approach to our biggest challenge, combatting our competitors in the marketplace that were large publicly traded national hospice companies—using a boutique-style method putting quality care at the forefront of our services, and building an excellent reputation through our mission and values. This allowed us to grow the company without any debt and provide the best care in the communities we served as reported by CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) annual clinical and patient outcome survey.
Please tell us about OpusCare.
Since taking over the Board, we knew that we were fighting large public companies with big advertising budgets. We used an organic service focused approach to ensure we were known for the best quality care in our communities. Specializing in end-of-life care services, we must lead with the heart and understand that this is often one of the most challenging periods in an individual or family’s life. Through research, we realized that there was a lack of education on what our services entailed and that patients were receiving our services when it was too late and were not receiving the full benefit of our program.
This led us to develop our palliative care program, which is designed to identify patients with multiple comorbidities and provide a smooth transition to hospice, when applicable, and allow patients to seek curative care still and begin to educate themselves on the benefits of these programs. Our most noteworthy achievement is the team we have built, combining a mixture of young innovators and seasoned veterans in the healthcare industry that has led us to today’s success. Today our philosophy remains the same, never sacrificing quality for growth. Our priority is the best interest of our patients and their families. “We can’t change the destination, but we can affect the journey.”
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As the Baby Boomer population continues to age, we anticipate an increased need for hospice care services. Caretakers are becoming more educated in their end-of-life care options and are making more sophisticated decisions using all community resources available to them. Interest and education in palliative care are growing amongst healthcare providers, with a projected $103 billion reduction in societal healthcare costs over the next 20 years. This creates more community-based programs for those suffering from terminal illnesses and increases understanding of the hospice program’s benefits. We look forward to these programs’ future and how they can help improve the quality of life of millions suffering from the burden of their illnesses.
Contact Info:
- Address: OpusCare
6900 SW 80th Street Miami, FL 33143 - Website: www.opuscare.org
- Phone: 3055911606
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opuscare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpusCare
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpusCare
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