The first hospital in the United States was founded in 1751. We may not have been around back then, but we do have substantial history that of which every employee here is proud. Here is a look into the journey Source Medical has taken...
In July of 1970, our Founder and CEO, Keith A. Long, opened the doors of a multi-divisional recruitment and staffing organization named Christopher and Long in St. Louis, MO. This large company grew over the years to include recruitment divisions for manufacturing, pulp and paper, fashion and apparel, data processing/IT, finance/banking, agriculture, automotive, food processing/distribution, foundry and, ultimately, healthcare.
Mr. Long became a visionary in the healthcare recruitment field because most hospitals and medical centers had never been approached by a third-party organization to assist them with their physician staffing. Over the course of a few months, Mr. Long met with dozens of CEO’s and eventually gained approval to become a recruitment extension for several of their hospitals. After gathering a strong clientele, the medical/healthcare division of Christopher and Long was officially opened in the mid 1970’s and a new team of recruitment specialists began securing physicians for hospitals, medical centers and private practices across the nation. Overall, Christopher and Long became a recognized powerhouse in the recruitment and placement of tens of thousands of professionals across the United States.
In the early 1980’s, a group of individuals who were finding their own successes as physician recruiters wanted to establish an organization that respected honor, ethics, and professionalism in the healthcare staffing industry. This group of professionals formed an association and created strict recruitment guidelines to bring a standard of integrity to the industry. Mr. Long was a founding/charter member of this nationally recognized association which came to be known as The National Association of Physician Recruiters (NAPR) and is the gold standard governing body in the industry.
Throughout the 1980s, the medical/healthcare division of Christopher and Long was the most consistent, recognized and profitable of the many divisions in the organization. It operated strictly as a retained recruitment option which meant clients extended finances up front and throughout the given search until Christopher and Long found a physician to accept the practice. After the acceptance, a final placement fee was also remitted to the company.
As markets continued to shift, the medical/healthcare division of Christopher and Long decided to expand in 1991. It opened a recruitment group that worked exclusively on a contingency basis named Source Medical. As a contingency based division, Source Medical was compensated with a placement fee only when a candidate accepted the employment contract extended by the client. This approach helped the number of clients tired of paying tens of thousands of dollars up-front save their budget and gain flexibility. This new structure allowed the division to attract thousands of new clients.
As outsourcing and foreign trade agreements became stronger and more prevalent, the other divisions in Christopher and Long began to weaken. Fortunately, the medical/healthcare division was maintaining its strength because of the innovation of its contingency group, Source Medical. Mr. Long saw the future once again and, after 32 years of success in the staffing fields of manufacturing, food, fashion, IT, and finance, made a decision to focus on his most consistent and successful division...
On October 15th, 2002, Mr. Long transitioned his medical/healthcare division into a separate company and what was known as a division of Christopher and Long was rebranded and refocused as a contingency based medical/healthcare recruitment firm named Source Medical. Since 2002, it has been based in Creve Coeur, MO, a suburb of St. Louis.
Hundreds of consultants and executives that have worked for Christopher and Long and Source Medical have gone on to their own prosperous careers in the recruitment field and have regularly given credit to Mr. Long for laying their solid foundation of recruitment and marketing skills.
