Celebrating a year in business and honored as a 1996 winner of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber New Business Challenge, Health Index, Inc., Boardman, is a low-overhead, high-return company with a well-defined direction.

Health index is a mobile medical services provider, says David Serroka, president and chief executive officer.

The company, which caters primarily to private industry and trucking companies, employs 12 workers on an on-call basis. It contracts with physicians, psychologists, counselors and nurses.

"There's a lot of industry here and we want to provide service to our tri-county area base," Serroka says. "But we also plan to grow into other regions and even into other states," he adds.

"In a short time, we've developed 75 contracts and have clients in Pittsburgh, Akron, Ashtabula and Columbiana County."

Serroka says the company offers a complete package of occupational health services. "Most services are offered on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week basis," he says.

Health Index conducts physical examinations and offers drug screening and breath alcohol testing, offers psychological assessments and evaluations and provides counseling services by licensed personnel.

According to Serroka, Health Index is not part of managed care. Insurance companies are never billed, and Health Index does not charge an up-front retainer. The company bills its clients directly for all services rendered.

"Everything's in numbers," he explains. "We make a profit on what we do. Our prices are competitive with, if not lower than, market standards."

Services offered at Health Index are similar to "one-stop shopping" concept in that everything required in the way of occupation-health needs is provided by the company, Serroka adds.

"Our overhead is very low," he notes. "We pay our work force on a per-service basis. We guarantee service because we own the company and understand the trends in health care."

Jim Bishop, vice president and chief operating officer, says he enjoys "the autonomy of owning my own business and meeting with people. It's our business, and we're making the business work. I like working on the business side."

The prize for winning the chamber's 1996 award is a $40,000 package of goods and services, which Serroka says will be used this year.

"Because of winning this [award], we've been able to network successfully and develop some good relationships through this networking," Serroka emphasizes. "It took a lot of work," Bishop adds. "We had to submit a business plan, financial projections and present ourselves to win this award. It took a lot of evenings putting this together."

Serroka holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University.

Bishop holds a bachelor of nursing degree from YSU and a master's degree in human resources management from LaRoche College, Pittsburgh.