Filling a gap in health services
"It’s a Catch-22: Most banks require you to have a successful business history with good balance sheets before they’ll loan a large sum of money.”
– Dr. Steven Heffer, AFC Urgent Care
Client background
Dr. Steven Heffer knew his underserved community in Bridgeport needed an urgent care center. He had over 20 years of experience in emergency medicine but none as a business owner. Financing a freestanding hospital wouldn’t be easy — and 12 months of pursuing support left him still at square one — until the day he walked into Webster Bank.
The Moment
Dr. Heffer wanted to mesh his ER skills with his desire to practice family medicine in Connecticut’s largest city. He chose the AFC Urgent Care model as he developed his business plan but with no business background, Dr. Heffer would be challenged with securing the start-up financing needed for his vision.
Dr. Heffer got mixed receptions from national and local banks alike. Most of these financial institutions couldn’t justify supporting such an ambitious, first-time effort but Webster Bank saw something worthwhile.
Our response
Webster Bank saw Dr. Heffer’s extensive medical knowledge, connection to his community and vision as an unbeatable combination worthy of supporting. The Webster team:
- Refined Dr. Heffer’s business plan.
- Conducted a comprehensive analysis to identify how much working capital was needed, the state of Dr. Heffer’s current personal finances and the growth potential of this project.
The results
Webster financed Dr. Heffer’s first AFC Urgent Care center and it has quickly become one of the top five busiest AFC locations in the U.S. Dr. Heffer expanded his relationship with Webster and has all his personal banking needs handled by the bank. Currently, Dr. Heffer has four AFC Urgent Care centers throughout Bridgeport and plans to add more.