Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer Doty.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Spencer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I come from a family of medicine and entrepreneurship, so it was rather natural that I’ve ended up where I am now, as CEO and Medical Director of Active Life. Both of my grandfathers were physicians who practiced in the Glendale, CA area for many years, and both of my parents are Certified Prosthetists and Orthotists (CPO’s) who owned their own patient care facilities in the past. I was born in East Los Angeles at White Memorial Medical Center, where Active Life now has a clinical site interestingly enough, but I grew up mostly in Albuquerque, NM. My family moved back to Glendale, CA where I attended performing arts high schools in the Los Angeles area and eventually was awarded a music scholarship to Rice University in Houston, TX. I discovered during my undergraduate program that my heart was not in becoming a musician, but instead had a strong desire to pursue a career in Orthotics/Prosthetics, and I completed the necessary coursework to attend graduate programs at Northwestern University and California State Dominguez Hills to start my path of becoming a certified practitioner. I earned my joint ABC Certified Orthotist/Prosthetist designation (CPO) in 2008 and have been serving as CEO and Medical Director of Active Life since that time. I’ve enjoying participating in many opportunities to enhance my understanding and skills related to business (earned my MBA degree in 2009), and also continually grow professionally in the discipline of orthotics and prosthetics. I’ve been grateful for opportunities to serve a variety of patients over the years, including my favorite population of patients that come from UCLA pediatric orthopedic clinics. I’ve also been an instructor for Loma Linda’s MSOP (Masters of Science in Orthotics Prosthetics) and performed a variety of consulting and advisory roles for various organizations as a clinical expert in orthotics/prosthetics.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve witnessed and been part of first hand struggles related to operating a business in the healthcare sector over the years. Definitely not a smooth road, and a lot of sacrifice was needed from myself, my amazing wife and two wonderful young children, to get to the point I am today. Active Life struggled for many years to carve out its place in the crowded Southern California market and that posed many challenges. After years of doing the same thing year after year and no real growth, I decided a change was needed. Not only did I want to fully justify the cost of doing business and cost of living in California versus relocating my Company out of state, I wanted to truly build something innovative with great value to the community. In 2017, my vision to expand the company into multiple counties was able to come to fruition and we have experienced around a 300% growth in our clinic operations with around a dozen clinical sites throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire. We also have locations out of state in New Mexico. Our rapid growth could not have happened without the quality team that existed at Active Life, and the excellent people that joined our team throughout the expansion.
Active Life – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Active Life is a provider of orthotic and prosthetic devices with clinics throughout Southern California and New Mexico. We are contracted providers for Medicare, Medi-Cal, California Children’s Services and most private insurers. We also hold many contracts with managed care organizations, IPA’s and MSO’s. Active Life serves all age ranges and believes in a practice model that includes brick and mortar clinics as the primary means of patient care. What sets us apart is the depth of our available clinical services, as well as the service territories we cover. We offer many service lines that many companies do not offer, including compression garments for lymphedema and burn scar management, post-mastectomy breast forms and bras and diabetic footwear. We also specialize in pediatric devices for children who have complex diagnoses such as cerebral palsy, club foot and scoliosis. We also provide cranial remolding helmets. Our appeal to local health plans and IPA’s is that we are a one-stop clinic for so many services and for such large areas. Additionally, our ethical and clinical standards have earned us preferred and exclusive provider status for several large organizations without Southern California.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is making a positive contribution to the community while also maintaining a growing a profitable company that has proud leadership and dedicated employees. It’s also important that this is achieved while maintaining a work/life balance that allows time for family and to enjoy life outside of the office.
Contact Info:
- Address: Active Life
1577 E Chevy Chase Dr
Suite 210
Glendale, CA 91206 - Website: www.4activelife.com
- Phone: (818) 495-4610
- Email: [email protected]
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/active-life-orthotics-prosthetics-and-compression-glendale-3?uid=AceAyNjpwbYbotZkAlQ-TQ&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
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