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The Scene

the three years PFI has
been up and running. She
values PFI's commitment
to servicing its agents.
"What used to take a
month to six weeks with
other companies," she
says, "now takes 10 days
with Jeff We don't use
anyone else. Nothing falls
through the cracks with
him."
Gil Cohen is another
client who now deals only
with PFI. Says Cohen, an
agent with Allstate, "It's
rough to get good people,
and Jeff is top of the line.
I don't go with anyone
else any more. Each
Friday I am faxed a status
report on the list of
clients I've sent him. In
this business, that's
unheard of."
Slomovitz and Erlich
have just launched
Partners for Employers
(PFE), which provides
pre-employment and on-
going drua b testing both
on- and off-site. Erlich

DEBRA B. DARVICK
Special to The Jewish News

N

ow make a fist.
This will be over in
a sec. All You'll feel
is a little pinch."
. Sound familiar? If you're
like most people, your stom-
ach is already in knots at the
thought of having blood
drawn.
But for Jeff Slomovitz and
Brian Erlich, fists, tourniquets
and needles are the bread and
butter of their rapidly growing
Livonia company — The
Partners Group. These two
thirtysomethings, who have
been friends since seventh
grade, recently joined forces
and are becoming a formidable
force in the health and life
insurance industries. The two
concerns that comprise the
Partners Group — Partners for
Insurance and Partners for
Employers — are -making
inroads faster than you can say,
"Roll up your sleeve."
When you apply for a life
or health insurance policy, the
insurance agent schedules a
health screening that can
include blood and urine tests,
EEGs, treadmill stress tests
and beyond. And it's increas-
ingly likely that the techni-
cian who comes to the door,
tourniquet and pipette in
hand, has been sent by
Partners for Insurance.
"Last year, PFI performed
3,000 medical exams and our aim is
to double that before this year is out,"
Slomovitz comments. "In just three
weeks in January, we beat our goal for
the first six months of the year."
Service is the key. Erlich explains,
"We know an insurance agent receives
no pay until a health exam is com-
pleted. We have a common goal with
our agents: to get the exams done and
out the door." He recently joined
Jeff's company to handle the adminis-
trative and operational side of the
business, enabling high-energy Jeff to
focus on sales and marketing.
The division of labor is working.
Erlich centralized scheduling, made
changes in billing and automated
much of the operations that had pre-
viously been done by hand. "Until
Brian came," says Slomovitz, "we had
200 cases on the books at any one
time. Now our number is down to 90.

Rolled-Up Sleeves

Two young entrepreneurs have found a niche
in the health care industry.

3/19
1999

no Detroit Jewish News

"In addition," he says, "our
automation and centralized system
allows us to handle a request for a
health exam in two to five days. The
industry standard is seven to 14
days."
Slomovitz says PFI is different
because "our tech people work for us
and us only. It's not just about taking
blood and urine samples. It's about
making people feel comfortable and
cared for." He has been known to roll
up his sleeve and experience first
hand a technician's abilities.
PFI's commitment to quality and
efficiency is paying off. Although they
wouldn't disclose figures, Slomovitz
and Erlich say business is growing
fast. They are competing against five
national companies.
Rhonda Byer, a partner in
Primerica, a division of CityGroup,
has been working with Slomovitz for

.

explains, "We got to thinking about
other needs companies might have for
our health services. What we came up
with was drug testing."
Much of the testing done by corn-
panies today is government mandat-
ed. For example, the Department of
Transportation requires 25 percent of
its employees to be randomly tested
each year; 50 percent of nuclear
workers are required to be tested
weekly.
The prevalence of drug abuse has
led the pair to create a parental drug
awareness kit. It contains an educa-
tional pamphlet, a behavior contract
for parent and child and a urine test
that detects the presence of marijuana
and cocaine.
"Jeff and I saw a lot of awful things
in high school," Erlich says. The two
attended Southfield-Lathrup. "Drug
use isn't pretty and the numbers are

only growing. Plain and simple, Jeff
and I feel very strongly that parents
have to be aware; we have developed
this kit to help them recognize the
signs of drug use.
"There has to be an element of
trust between parent and child. We're
not saying, 'Buy this kit and have your
kid urinate in a cup.' What we hope is
that parents will educate themselves
and then talk with their kids about the
consequences of drug use.
"We hope they say, 'We love you
and want you to make the right
choices. We are educating ourselves so
we know what to look for. If we ever
feel you are exhibiting the behaviors
of drug use, we will ask that you take
this test."' Although neither
Slomovitz nor Erlich is a drug coun-
selor, they provide cutting edge infor-c
mation about the effects of drug use
as well as a list of resources.
If you'd asked either man 10 years
ago what he'd be doing at the turn of
the century, neither would have come
up with today's reality. They work 12-
14 hours a day and say they are hav-
ing a ball.
"To us it's like a game," Slomovitz
says. "If you know the rules and peo-
ple are happy, it moves and you do
well." I

Happenings

March 22 Monday, 7 p.m. Agency
for Jewish Education Adult Jewish
Learning Educational Exchange.
Topic: "Pesach: A Holiday You Can't
Pass Over" facilitated by Rabbi Joseph
Krakoff at Barnes & Noble,
Farmington Hills. For information,
call Amy Milner, (248) 354-1050.

March 25 Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Hillel
of Metro Detroit's Chocolate Seder at
the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building, Bloomfield Township. Cost
$5. For information and reservations,
call HMD, (313) 577-3459 or e-mail
hillel@wayne.edu

March 28 Sunday, noon. YAD trip to
the Holocaust Memorial Center, West
Bloomfield. Meet at the Kahn JCC
for brunch. Day includes a presenta-
tion from Kent State University
Professor Herbert Hochhauser and a
guided tour of the Holocaust
Memorial Center. Co-sponsored by
Hillel of Metro Detroit. For reserva-
tions by Wednesday, March 24, call
Lauren Dworkin, (248) 203-1492 or
e mail dworkin@jfmd.org

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