Reflecting On 2021
For all of us here at Raintree, the theme for 2021 was perseverance. As we started the year continuing to battle COVID, making decisions on vaccinations, travel and social gatherings, we were challenged to be good citizens. For many of us that meant masking, social distancing, waiting anxiously for COVID test results and for some, attending funerals.
While this continued to wear down our hearts and minds throughout the year, nobody was prepared for the ultimate challenge that we faced together – losing our founder and my husband, Richard Welty. The devastating manner in which we lost him had a profound impact on us all.
However, throughout this loss, my guiding light was Richard’s constant and persistent focus on the wellbeing of our clients, employees and product. Even up to the night prior to his passing, we discussed how to deliver better training, how we could provide better revenue cycle management services and our planned expansion with the conference center. He truly and deeply wanted a brighter future for us all.
Within these discussions of a brighter future, we strategized how to grow in a responsible manner. It seems like yesterday that it was just the two of us, traveling from customer office to office where Richard would work on the data conversions (updates) in the back and I would be out front training staff. Each step along the way has taken us one step further from our original “mom and pop” beginnings and one step closer to the professional corporation that we aspired to be.
In taking on a capital partner, we wanted to amplify the benefits of our collective company talents while minimizing the impact on clients and staff. So, when we met with Serent Capital multiple times, we were able to check all of our prerequisite boxes. Our respective desired methods of achieving sustainable growth were in alignment and Richard was on board. It is for this reason that I was able to continue on and carry out the plan. In light of what had happened and in the context of our tremendous loss, the decision still made sense.
Despite our loss, Serent Capital acknowledged the persistent, sustained value of Raintree Systems and we stepped forward together. As a company, we had blossomed. In fact, I had never felt so grown-up as I did throughout our due diligence process during Q3-Q4 in 2021. Many thanks go out to Marlene Shaw and our entire leadership team for their tremendous help with gathering all the required information.
Looking Ahead To 2022
Throughout the transaction process, discussions regarding how to grow and where to grow continued. One thing was very clear: we wanted to grow exponentially and responsibly. Our new team members from Serent brought along bright ideas and immediate assistance. We agreed that we wanted to find more of the right people together. We also agreed that we wanted to examine our internal processes to remove obstacles that prevent growth.
While there are many benefits of working together as a mature team, it often takes an outside perspective to help us “get out of our own way.” Between Richard and I, we wanted to take every great idea and just do it! But, we required outside feedback and whiteboard discussions to select fewer high-leverage items, so we could do each of them well.
2022 represents a fresh start and a renewed determination to deliver even greater value to our entire Raintree Family. And guess what? We are not the only company that is growing! In many discussions with our clients, they also want help with their growth objectives and it is our deepest desire to partner with them in those initiatives.
Here are just a few of the items that we plan to deliver in 2022:
- Provide a superior Patient Journey experience
- Simplify our onboarding process with a dedicated data team to facilitate transitions
- Improve the Provider Journey with simplified workflows and expanded web access
- Increase product support by means of building domain expertise at all levels: “Domainification”
Along with our new partnership with Serent Capital, I have the distinct pleasure of working with Mike Metzger, our Interim CEO and Chairman of the Board:
“I am a newcomer to the Raintree family, but I have the honor and privilege of working with the Raintree team everyday to help us deliver value to you, your providers and your patients. Raintree is an amazing company with an amazing legacy and our goal over the next year is to build upon this legacy to deliver product and service improvements that enable you to grow your businesses. It is my sincere desire that you will begin to see improvements within the first half of 2022.”
Mike Metzger
With all of this growth in mind, we will indeed stay true to Richard Welty’s vision of making healthcare efficient, accessible and affordable for everyone.
Our Renewed Mission for 2022 is:
“Become the leading provider of software and service solutions to the Therapy/Rehab market by offering the most powerful, flexible platform for providers to enable more accessible, excellent and efficient care while also improving client revenue, compliance as well as team member’s daily lives.”
Our future holds the promise of growth, not only for our company, but most importantly for all of our clients, partners and vendors who can expect to grow right alongside us. If we have not already done so, we want to hear from you. What are your growth goals for 2022? Let Raintree partner with you to help you achieve those goals, so that together we can make 2022 a stellar year.
Thank you!
Lorraine Welty
