This week, CoreMedical Group is celebrating its 25th anniversary. From beginning its journey in 1999, to thriving today in 2024, CoreMedical Group has grown and flourished.
Many of CoreMedical Group’s executive management team have been with the company since the beginning. Aram Hampoian is the President and CEO, Greg Henrichon is the Executive Vice President, and Lynn Cuomo is the Vice President of Human Resources. They’ve seen massive changes in the healthcare staffing industry and in the company as it has grown over the past quarter of a century. Here are their stories.
Tell us about your career here at CoreMedical Group, where did you start?
Aram: I started at Core as a referral. I was selling windows, looking for a new job in staffing, and one of my installers said, “My wife works for CoreMedical Group. They just lost a sales rep. You should check them out.” So, I did. I reached out the next week and I met with our old CEO, and it was just a very down-to-earth interview. The other place I was considering was suit and tie and Core had a relaxed atmosphere. My instinct said, “this place seems pretty cool.” I didn't know anything about staffing when I started in the Allied Division as an account executive. We only had 30-something employees when I started.
Greg: When I graduated from college, I moved to Portland, Oregon, with my girlfriend, who is now my wife. When we got out there, I was looking for a position for work and there was an ad in the paper for an Executive Recruiter, and I was at the library looking at the paper and I called from a payphone and talked to the guy and said “Look, I’m not qualified to be an Executive Recruiter, but if you are one, I could use your help because I just landed here in Portland, I don’t have a job.” I ended up taking a job there as a recruiter! When my wife and I were ready for our next step I had previously spoken to CoreMedical Group on the phone. It was a small company at the time, I think there were maybe 5 or 6 employees, and they were looking to start a new division. I was like, “You know what? I’ll go check it out and just see what the deal is.” I interviewed and probably within 10 minutes of meeting with them I knew that I’d go work there if they offered me the job. It just felt right. They did offer the job, and I started here on April 2nd of 2001. My specific charge was to start the Permanent Placement division. They were a small travel company, and I just went in, and over time built a division and had a lot of success. It was fun being part of a small company and seeing it grow and start getting accolades and knowing I was part of it. As years went on, I assumed traditional responsibilities in the organization and became Vice President and was very close with the former owners of Core. So together, we were all the executive team.
Lynn: I had just started college, and I was there for two weeks when our work study program had a posting for a “console operator.” I didn't even know what that was, but my work study advisor said, “you should apply for this job. It's right down the street.” So, I did. I started working here as a console operator and I was required to type resumes. I joke that I used to chisel them in stone because that's how long ago it was. Eventually I left that company to try something else. During that time, CoreMedical Group broke off from a larger company to become its own individual company. I had kept in touch with the new owners of the new CoreMedical Group after I left and told them that they should hire me back to do their paperwork. Exactly one year after I had left, I was hired back as the admin for the new owners. So, I did reception stuff. I answered the phones, helped with paperwork. But they were transitioning to business owners for the first time, and it was just four of us, figuring it out. We just had a really awesome business-minded CEO with an amazing Sales Vice President, and they started hiring people. When they offered me the admin job, it was on a sticky note. And I think for a number of years after that, my review was on a sticky note here. My manager at the time, Sue, would slide a sticky across the table to keep the tradition going.
What has been a highlight of working here?
Aram: When we have milestones it's exciting. And so that could be the number of clinical colleagues we have on assignment, that could be someone buying their first home, that could be someone having their first kid, any milestone I think is always exciting. It could just be “Hey, I've been here for a month or six months.” Every person's milestone or what they think is big is different than someone else's and we try to recognize all of them. But the biggest highlight is helping millions of patients. You know, over our 25 years, there's no bigger accomplishment than that.
Greg: The big picture for me is being able to see the evolution of literally a small startup into a now nationally recognized player in our industry that’s not only very successful and profitable but is providing a very important and needed service in the industry and society. So that’s been a really fulfilling evolution and seeing how that’s happened. When our current executive team purchased Core in 2018 it was exciting and to be able to say, “okay let’s put our own stamp on this. What can we do to add some different things in and really grow it and become a much larger organization.” Having a more direct influence on that has been a highlight.
Lynn: There's so much. Just having the opportunity. I'll say that a million times. I love seeing, for example, when Aram came, he used to sell windows and then he was an account executive here at Core. And you know, watching and being part of his journey from an account executive to a team lead to a manager, to a vice president, to the CEO. It just really reiterates that the job is yours and you can make of it what you want. I started as the receptionist. Even right now, we have a somewhat newer team. Most of them have never done this work before in their life, but they're hard workers. They want to learn. Seeing them succeed, watching a lot of the salespeople just on their life journey, right? We’ve had a number of people that have met the love of their life here, have gotten married, bought houses together, and have babies now. I just love that for us. I love that for our company.
Greg Henrichon current executive Vice President (back left) alongside former CoreMedical Group employees in the early 2000s
What have been the biggest changes in the company/industry you’ve witnessed?
Aram: So, externally, the biggest changes are the expectations of our customers. They’re very different than they were pre-COVID for our clients and for candidates. And we're still evolving today to execute and make sure that both those parties are happy. You know, pre-COVID we were in the office five days a week. Only a couple of us had laptops. We didn't use Teams; we barely used Zoom. Fast forward to today, everyone's on laptops. Most people work from home 3 to 4 days a week. So, I think technology has evolved greatly in that time. And I think as a company, we've done our best to evolve with technology.
Greg: When I started here, travel nursing wasn’t as developed as it is now. When I started, I was educating hospitals on what that service line was. Then we hit what was referred to as ‘The Great Recession’ in 2008 and 2009. The markets went haywire. People lost their jobs, companies were downsizing, it was nearly a depression. Travel nursing was struggling big time. That was a massive hurdle and change. We gritted through it and it paid off with huge growth after.
Lynn: Technology has been the biggest shift. It’s the things that most businesses have seen in 25 years, but truly for me, going from hand typing every single individual resumé to getting them through email and text now feels crazy to look back on! Our computer systems have evolved so much over the years too. We went from using a DOS system called Searcher, to Easy Access, and then we started using Bullhorn. We were one of Bullhorn’s, if not their very first, medical customer!
What is your favorite memory from your career here at CoreMedical Group?
Aram: I would say my best memories are with my friends that I have grown up with at this company. Some of those friends are still here! And I definitely use the word “friends” on purpose. I have been in their weddings or they've been in my wedding and, you know, our kids hang out with each other, things like that. So yeah, my best memories are with my friends.
Greg: My favorite memory is from when we got to a point where we had 100 contractors on headcount - that was our first big milestone. We had a lobster/clam bake, people were doing karaoke, it was a huge celebration! To know we had a hundred nurses, a hundred people working for us. It was awesome.
Lynn: I think recently it’s been being named a Best Company To Work For so many years in a row! Hitting the mark on those surveys and knowing that our employees love working here and we’re doing things right for our people.
As our executives said, it’s hard to choose just one milestone or memory to define the last 25 years. But we are looking forward to continuing to meet those milestones and make even more memories in the next 25! Thank you to all of the healthcare professionals and corporate office employees who have helped to get CoreMedical Group to this incredible point in our history. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Interested in joining CoreMedical Group? Check out our open positions below!