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Red One Medical |
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September 9, 2019 Issue |
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CEOCFO MAGAZINE |
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Red One Medical is providing the US Federal Government, Military, Warfighters and Vets with First Market Access to Innovative Medical Solutions from Major Pharma and Startups in the Infection Prevention, Wound Care and Advanced Surgical Arenas |
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Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Red One Medical
Contact: Charles Pollak 917-582-1904
charles@redonemedical.com
Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – September 9, 2019
CEOCFO: Mr. Pollak, what is the overall vision at Red One Medical? What is your focus today? Mr. Pollak: I founded Red One Medical after serving as a United States Marine Corps officer on multiple deployments overseas. While overseas, I witnessed firsthand advances in battlefield trauma medicine that saved many lives for America’s warfighters in combat.
I would find myself asking, “What is the long-term plan for these young wounded service members, after they are medically medevac’d stateside, and what is the plan for their long-term recovery and medical care, both in the military and after the completion of military service?” It is Red One’s mission to provide innovative solutions for America’s military patients, both during their time in service within the DoD and afterwards, when they transition to the VA. I want them to live full, active lives and enjoy life with the full health and happiness that they deserve.
CEOCFO: That is a big goal! What specifically have you worked on and what is your focus now? Mr. Pollak: It is a big goal, but it is an important one for our America with the greatest military fighting force in the world. Red One has been very fortunate to identify and partner with both leading manufacturers and cutting edge startup technology innovators in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. We represent brands such as Siemens Healthineers, Stryker, Brainlab and AstraZeneca, among others, to help source their products to the government, along with some innovative startups in the infection prevention, wound care and advanced surgical arenas. Our goal is to provide the US federal government first market access to these innovative solutions before they are available even in the private sector for America’s general population.
CEOCFO: How do you get a foot in the door, both with medical companies and with the appropriate people in the various government departments? Mr. Pollak: Fortunately, with my background in the military, I have a real passion to accomplish our mission of drastically improving healthcare for America’s warfighter patients. Thereby, I have built a team with over 90 years combined expertise in the medical and government contracting industries. I brought in a former CFO of a spinal hardware company to run my operations and financing. I have hired legal counsel of former military JAG attorneys that have Supreme Court experience including the 2016 Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States case, and government contracting teams that have extensive experience working with former contracting officers on contract compliance and regulations.
I have also been fortunate to hire sales team members from the medical device industry who have worked with some of the largest medical device manufacturers in the industry. They have covered cases in the operating room for orthopedic spine and neurosurgeons. Therefore, we really have a unique understanding of the patients we serve and what specific products they need. Our team understands how to procure those products for the government through our contracting team, and how to keep our contracts and clients within government rules and regulations through our legal department.
I have been very fortunate to surround myself with people who have a lot of expertise in these different areas to help us be a ideal partner for our medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers along with the US federal government customer, in order to support America’s warfighters, which at the end of the day is who we have always focused on serving.
CEOCFO: You mentioned some larger, well known medical companies. Do they typically work through a third party to interact with the government? How do you get them to look at your approach? Mr. Pollak: We have built great relationships across the medical and pharmaceutical industries and have been very fortunate to be a proven supplier to the government, as shown with our high government CPARS report card ratings. Because government contracting is very complex and dealing with government regulations is so complex, many leading medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers like to team with competent small business partners to help them navigate compliance with the federal government.
We help the government source leading industry products that are very innovative and, in doing so, we have built many great relationships in the medical industry and in the federal government. We also happen to have socio-economic statuses like Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that help big manufactures meet their small business goals while helping to also achieve government purchasing and subcontracting goals in the process. However, I want to be clear that we are medical device and government contracting experts first who happen to have some statuses with government.
CEOCFO: We came upon Red One Medical from your agreement working with Altapure. Would you tell us about that? Is that typical of how you work? Mr. Pollak: Yes. In today’s healthcare market we are coming to a unique time where we are at the end of the antibiotic era. There are many infection issues in hospitals in America and around the world. This is especially true in both the VA and Department of Defense. We have been very fortunate to partner with Altapure who has the single most effective technologies we have found for reducing infections in hospital operating rooms.
We are very excited to help them expand their footprint in the federal government and also to tell the federal government about our complete infection prevention program that includes Altapure products, among other complimentary items as well. Therefore, our goal is to be the the VA and DOD’s one-stop-shop for infection prevention, to reduce pathogens in the hospital and improve healthcare outcomes for patients as they are treated at these facilities. We believe that Altapure is a groundbreaking product that is going to revolutionize infection control through its unique technologies. We are proud to partner with them in the VA and DoD.
CEOCFO: How do you take advantage of technology to bridge the gap of maybe inventory or delivery, or do all the things that you need to do between the two groups you serve? Mr. Pollak: First, we have to be very selective of the products and the companies that we partner with. We need to identify and bring to market the most innovative medical solutions available in the industry. Then we can help these companies reach the federal government facilities and warfighter patients. Fortunately, we have been able to source innovative products for federal healthcare facilities and improve treatment outcomes for their military patients. This is the reason I founded Red One Medical.
CEOCFO: What did you learn from the military in how to run a company? What did you take from your military experience into the business world? Mr. Pollak: I was captain of the rowing team at Brown University during my undergraduate studies, before completing my MBA at UNC-Chapel Hill, and was fortunate to compete in Olympic trials after college graduation. One major lesson that I learned from both rowing and my military service is teamwork- everyone carrying their weight and working as one. Winning and losing comes down to how well you work with the team over the self. The lessons I have learned there as a athlete carried over in a significant way in the Marine Corps, and I try to apply these lessons to my company today.
As a Marine Corps artillery officer, I worked together with different specialties of Marines to accomplish our mission, whether it was Marines calculating firing data, others shooting cannons, or maneuver units we supported with timely and accurate fires, we needed to work as one. I just always tried to be a good teammate and good partner to others for one common mission. I carry that over to Red One as well, trying to get the most competent team of diverse people that I can and then empower them to take advantage of their skills so that we can be as efficient a company as we can and in turn, the best partner for the federal government and its military patients.
We all operate as one team and it is in support of America’s military patients. We have also given a lot of time, resources and experience to military and nonprofit organizations. One More WAVE is a great organization that builds surfboards for disabled veterans and gives surfing lessons. Then there is the Fisher House, which is like the Ronald McDonald House but for Veterans patients and their families near VA hospitals. I will always make sure that we give back, by providing a portion of our time and profits to these organizations. I think it helps to be grounded in the same work as we are, still serving our country after we come out of the military, and we are here to work together to support America’s warfighters.
CEOCFO: There are so many different organizations that work with the military. How do you decide who to support with your money or your time? Mr. Pollak: For me, I have to focus on growing my business and doing what is best for the patients first. I can then take the time outside of work, and money outside of work, and try to find nonprofit organizations that really have a strong mission and are very efficient with their money and have great outcomes for the work that they do. We are big believers in outdoor therapy and climbing and surfing and we work with organizations in this area to carry that forward.
Obviously, being involved with the DoD and VA hospitals, I believe the Fisher House is a great fit, because as families come in for treatment, they have somewhere to stay next these hospitals and can live in a comfortable environment while they are supporting their loved ones during treatment. Therefore, we are honored to support these organizations and I would love to continue to support more. I welcome anyone reading this that would like to support the military and veterans to reach out to these organizations as well.
CEOCFO: What is ahead for Red One Medical? If we talked a year from now what might be different for you? Mr. Pollak: Medical technology is evolving rapidly. The way the government changes their process is rapidly changing as well, and government compliance and regulations are always evolving. Thereby, Red One is focused on being a great resource for our partners in the government landscape and then identify the most innovative products that are coming to market as early as possible in the lifecycle. We then bring those products to these hospitals so that patients can be treated with best-in-class care.
We like to identify innovative products and bring them to the government as soon as we can. We have a significant footprint now in the medical device space and are making a shift to pharmaceuticals as well. We have recently announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca, and we are really excited to provide the VA with best-in-class pharmaceuticals from their company. I think that in the next year we should have a lot of growth in the pharmaceutical space while continuing to provide innovation in the medical device space as well.
CEOCFO: Why now, to go into the pharmaceutical arena? Mr. Pollak: First, is a large industry with a lot of market opportunity to serve patients. Second, I receive my own personal medical care by the VA and DoD and I have found that, just like in medical device, as a veteran patient you want the best products and services you can get on the drug side as well. Additionally, there are a lot of opioid issues in our country right now, which is a big concern of mine. There are many different ways to treat military service members as they transition out of the service and while they are in service, it is our goal to provide the best and safest options to them.
I feel that if we can source the best drugs and pharmaceuticals, and provide them to the government, that can be another level of improving patient care. We are really passionate about that and we are really excited to partner with these leading companies to accomplish this goal.
CEOCFO: What surprised you as Red One Medical has grown and evolved? Mr. Pollak: Just how much there is to learn and how complex government contracting is in the medical device industry or pharmaceuticals. It is just very humbling to be surrounded by talented people every day, with our manufacturing partners and our government partners, along with my internal team at Red One. I am surprised at how much I am learning every day and continue to learn and how much I have to learn in the future. I just try to stay humble and have an open mind in order to keep finding ways to serve military and veteran patients with innovative medical products that improve healthcare outcomes.
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“It is Red One’s mission to provide innovative solutions for America’s military patients, both during their time in service within the DoD and afterwards, when they transition to the VA. I want them to live full, active lives and enjoy life with the full health and happiness that they deserve.”- Charles Pollak
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Charles
Pollak