Beryl is approaching its 25th anniversary. We have a lot to be proud of--connecting millions of people to healthcare, building long-term client relationships, and creating a great place to work. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing anecdotes and lessons learned from 25 years in business. Let's begin with how it all started.

My brothers and I always wanted to do something together.  We decided to go into business providing medical alert systems for people with medical conditions and the elderly. Being a 24/7 business from day one, we traded shifts, slept on a cot and made sure we were available when people needed us.

I’ve learned since then that good values and hard work lead to good results. I also learned early that listening to customers is what makes our business grow.

In 1986, one of our hospital customers asked us to pick up the phone for something they called "physician referral." I had no idea what that was!  But when they told me they would pay us $3,000 per month, I made a deal on the spot. 

Little did I know that every hospital did it and that we would start an industry providing outsourced referral and information services for hospitals.