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10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 25 2024 Global Medical Virtual Assistants CEO Beth Lachance, shown in her West Hartford Center office, says the success of GMVA would not be possible without her management team in the Philippines, shown virtually on the computer screen. HBJ PHOTOS | STEVE LASCHEVER A 'Curvy Road' Former gymnast's path to founding $16M (and growing) virtual medical assistants business had twists and turns around that, and there's quite a bit of administrative work." That's where GMVA fits in, offering remote help with new patient intakes, checking patients in and out, sched- uling appointments and verifying insurance coverage. GMVA now has more than 900 employees working remotely for healthcare facilities and medical practices in 30 states. All remote workers are based in the Philippines. In the room Lachance's "curvy road" started after college. She returned to Connecticut and landed a job selling an injectable fertility drug. She took to pharmaceutical sales right away. "You know, there's nothing like being 22 years old and instantly making a lot of money!" she said. The job introduced her to "a lot of really smart people," while also letting her spend time in doctors' offices and hospitals, enabling her to "be in medicine in some way," she said. That wasn't enough. "I realized I still wanted to be in the operating room, and the other way to get there is through surgical devices." Lachance, who was listed as 4-foot-11 by the University of Florida, said the problem with breaking into surgical device sales was that the field was dominated by men. "I had to battle my way in," she said. She succeeded, being hired by a former Florida alum. "He knew the incredible hard work that goes into being a gymnast," she said. Lachance said she did really well, even winning some awards, and eventually found her way into those operating rooms. "It wasn't hands-on in the oper- By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com W hen Beth Lachance was a student at Bristol Eastern High School, she was a nationally ranked gymnast who already knew what she wanted to do with her life. "I knew early on I wanted to be a nurse," she said recently. Lachance (nee Raboin) is pretty good at achieving her goals. In high school, she completed a certified nursing assistant program while also competing in gymnastics at a high level. She placed second in bars and floor exercise and third in the all-around competition at the 1992 Carolina International Invitational as a member of the Cheshire Acrobatic Training School club team. After high school, she had her pick of Division I collegiate programs. She accepted a full scholarship from the University of Florida because she "loved the coach," Judi Markell, and could pursue her nursing education. Life, though, is what happens when you're busy making other plans. After tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on two separate occasions — including initially, three months into her freshman year — she retired from gymnastics during her junior year following the 1996 season. She also had to pivot away from nursing school, because clinical hours were held at the same time as gymnastics practice. Instead, she pursued and earned a bach- elor's degree in community and school health, with the goal of eventually returning to college for a nursing degree. That didn't happen, which leads to a question: How does a former collegiate gymnast with a commu- nity and school health degree end up founding Global Medical Virtual Assistants (GMVA), a West Hart- ford-based virtual staffing company with global operations and annual revenues now around $16 million? "Well, you know, it's a curvy road," Lachance, now 49, said. Remote staffing If you're unfamiliar with GMVA, you probably don't manage a medical practice. Founded in 2019 and now head- quartered at 65 LaSalle Road in the heart of West Hartford Center, GMVA provides remote staffing options for medical practices, offering virtual medical reception- ists, medical administrative assis- tants and medical specialists. "Not that long ago, virtual assis- tants (VAs) were being widely used in a lot of different industries, but not in the medical industry," Lachance said. Even five years ago, before the pandemic, medical practices were struggling with staffing, she said. "Insurance is paying less to physi- cians for their time with patients and for procedures, so profit margins are shrinking," she said, adding that doctors are seeing significantly more patients each day to earn the same revenue. "They're not able to scale and add more staff members," she said. The result is massive burnout, Lachance said, because the staff are doing "a tremendous amount of not only direct patient care, but all the administrative work GLOBAL MEDICAL VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS Industry: Remote medical staffing HQ: 65 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Top Executive: Beth Lachance, CEO Employees: 918 2024 Revenue: $16 million Website: globalmedicalva.com