Bouncing Back from COVID-19 Part 3: How Bancroft Can Help

By: Mike Gaffney

This is the third in a three-part blog series about helping private practices bounce back from COVID-19. Click here for the first blog in the series detailing the issue, and click here for the second blog about finding a solution.

Once you have outlined the challenges facing your business and envisioned possible solutions, the next step is executing those solutions and turning your relaunch into a reality. But, like so many other things, this is easier said than done. These are uncharted waters. You are navigating circumstances — a global pandemic — that no other modern practice has faced before. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone, and you don’t have to make it up as you go. Bancroft Group can provide assistance to your business in many different ways — whether you need a simple review of your plan, help developing a plan, team augmentation, balance sheet restructuring, or more.

The chart below describes the many different ways your organization can engage Bancroft’s Post-COVID-19 team. You can choose the level of engagement that best fits your company’s needs, timeframe, and budget.

If you don’t have a lot of time, Bancroft can provide a quick screen of your relaunch plan. We can evaluate your existing plan, conduct a gap analysis, and suggest areas that might need improvement. If you have a little more time, we can also provide a more thorough plan validation and improvement process which will scrutinize your existing plans and suggest detailed improvements.

If your practice doesn’t have fully developed plans, we can help your existing team develop them. We can help you create an overall plan for the practice or discreet plans that are specific to subjects such as personnel, business line assessment, communications, etc.

If you need additional personnel to fill gaps in your organization, we can provide an interim CFO or augment your team with an executive chairman/operating partner. We also advise on balance sheet restructuring, whether you are negotiating a restructuring or raising capital.

The Bancroft Group’s Operating Adviser Network delivers diverse experiences from more than seventy-five highly successful executive leaders and advisors who have created several billions of enterprise value in careers across healthcare services, insurance, technology, med devices and life sciences companies.

Our clients choose Bancroft Group because:

• We deliver rapid and practical advice and improvements for our clients: lenders, private equity investors and management teams.
• We bring deep operational, financial and human capital experience, delivering cross-functional capabilities that can drive change and reduce risk.
• We have decades of experience in across a range of key specialties in Physician Practice Management, including:

1. Ophthalmology, optometry and laser vision
2. Dermatology
3. MedSpa
4. Fertility
5. GI and Urology
6. Dentistry
7. Telehealth

Bancroft’s expertise with COVID-19 relaunches is not merely theoretical. We have already supported businesses that are dealing with their pandemic responses. Below is an outline which describes the assistance Bancroft gave a multi-site practice with a real-time leadership response to COVID-19.

Situation: Engaged by PE firm to assist in revising and executing a plan to strengthen single specialty multi-site regional service provider to strengthen infrastructure and generate accelerated growth

Initial activities:

• Developed a plan by applying a data driven approach to assess key functional components of business
• Received board and management ownership of plan — created and facilitated project teams to implement plan
• Quickly pivoted to build contingency plan to address mounting concerns surrounding COVID-19
• Work with management to develop personnel and cash flow plan for relaunch

Responding to COVID-19 — Assessment and Rapid Plan Development

Days 1–4 Gathered and analyzed data:

• Safety measures-employee and patient
• Insights and guidelines-local, state and federal, clinical, legal, investors, board
• Patient pipeline — leads, appointments, shows/no-shows, reschedule cancellations
• Detailed facility and consolidated financial analysis:

1. revenue-provider/hour by hour/day by day
2. expenses-variable and fixed options supported by models

Responding to COVID-19 — Rapid Plan Execution

Day 5 Finalized plans

• Presented to investors, board and management, discussed and agreed on best plan
• Informed employees, patients and key vendors of immediate temporary shutdown of the entire business

Day 6 Close and Communicate

• Implemented 24 -point closure checklist to secure each clinic
• Proactively communicated with key managers/employees, banks, landlords and vendors of immediate temporary shutdown of the entire business

Day 7+ Begin Work on Interim and Relaunch Efforts

• Developed first draft of ‘Project Dormant’- action plan to address functional strengthening of business during closure to proactively prepare for re-opening of each and every clinic
• Began identifying talent gaps and fill needs during Dormant and Relaunch
• Began developing a ramped relaunch plan based on business forecast modeling to identity working capital needs for relaunch
• Developed and facilitated daily meeting and communication plans among all key stakeholders to finalize action plan

Find out how Bancroft Group can help your practice relaunch itself and thrive in the tricky COVID-19 environment. Contact us today.