May 24, 2011 | WMU News
Traumasoft has opened an office in the Granite Park I Building, which is located at 4664 Campus Drive in WMU's Business Technology and Research Park. Operating in a 4,000 square foot space, the fast-growing company is already in hiring mode and has added four new positions in recent weeks, bringing its employee base to 12. Traumasoft officials expect to at least double the size of the company within two years.
The company was founded in 2006 by President Brian Balow. He has spent more than 25 years in the emergency medical services industry in southwest Michigan. Frustrated by the lack of automation in EMS operations, Balow started building EMS applications on a small scale in his spare time in 1998.
His goal was to develop applications that would allow ambulance companies to streamline their operations, improve their service and drive improved customer satisfaction. Balow started by automating the manually intensive and error-prone process of scheduling crews. From there, the software suite grew to include electronic patient care records, an electronic employee file cabinet, a GPS tracker, and data on human resources, trip scheduling, dispatch, fleet maintenance and payroll. Traumasoft's cloud computing model was chosen to give its customers access to all of the suite functions through a simple Internet connection.
"Because our applications are completely integrated and the pricing is straightforward, 'One company, One solution, One price' has become our mantra," Balow says. "The reception by customers using our products has been phenomenal. There isn't another company that's providing a completely integrated suite of EMS web-based applications. We're providing something unique--an application suite that a company can grow into."
Traumasoft released its first major application in September after completing beta testing at several leading-edge ambulance companies around the country. The product is already in use by ambulance companies in eight states, and Traumasoft clients include one of Northern California's largest ambulance providers.
"We've been in stealth mode for several years while we developed and tested our software with some flagship customers," Balow says.
Traumasoft's cloud computing service means its proprietary software is housed on company servers, where clients' data is separated, secured and accessible via the web. Rapid growth means the company is hiring and is particularly interested in WMU grads with IT software development and business skills.
"We're hiring," Balow says. "This outstanding facility has enabled us to attract local hires instead of having to contract remote employees. And we've already brought three new employees into Kalamazoo from Arizona, South Carolina and the Upper Peninsula."
Balow expects the company to work with the computer science faculty and WMU engineers who specialize in streamlining hospital operations. Traumasoft's move to the BTR Park came just as the WMU School of Medicine was gaining traction with the recent announcement of a $100 million gift. That fact is attracting a lot of attention from potential customers.
"We're already hearing excitement and interest when we tell people where we are located," Balow says.
WMU's Business Technology and Research Park focuses on the life sciences, advanced engineering, and information technology. The park shares the University's 265-acre Parkview Campus with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Launched in late 1999, the BTR Park is home to some 30 companies directly employing nearly 700 people.
For more information, contact Brian Balow, Traumasoft's founder, at brian@traumasoft.com or (269) 978-4320; or WMU's Bob Miller, associate vice president for community outreach, at bob.miller@wmich.edu or (269) 217-3878.
Visit Traumasoft online at traumasoft.com.
