2016 SBOTY Finalist: Blue Tail Medical Group
Doctor Kristin Oliver has taken sports medicine to a new level.
Oliver completed her residency at University Hospital, followed by a sports medicine fellowship with the Columbia Orthopaedic Group, and even received a master’s degree in public health along the way. She and her two partners in St. Louis started taking care of athletes with chronic soft tissue injuries, particularly endurance athletes, and have become well known for their non-operative methods.
“Twelve years ago, we traveled to Germany, Brazil, and the Netherlands to learn how to use your stem cells to heal your own tissue,” Oliver says. Initially, they were one of only two American providers using regenerative medicine to help heal their patients’ injuries and disease.
Blue Tail Medical Group started in St. Louis, opened a satellite clinic in Columbia in 2008, and currently leases space from Restoration Eye Care on Forum Katy Parkway. Thanks to word-of-mouth, patients come from as far as Alaska, France, and China to receive treatment.
In order to increase their research base, the group also plans to open five franchises before June, with the hope of having 30 franchises in five years.
While their growth may sound glamorous, Oliver, who has lived in Columbia for 24 years, is just glad the business is now large enough to afford a full-time office manager. “For the first five years, I paid all the bills and did all the hiring,” she says.
“I love that what we do is novel,” Oliver continues, “and I love that it offers an alternative for those in chronic pain.”
Oliver also enjoys the people she works with and the team-building aspects of growing a small business. “I have the best employees in the world,” she says of her staff of four. “They’re happy, so our patients are happy.”
The Blue Tail Medical Group is new to the chamber, and Oliver looks forward to getting more involved. She was thrilled to be nominated for the award by a patient and has enjoyed meeting the other finalists. “It’s nice to see the face behind the business,” she says with a smile.
Learn about the other SBOTY finalists: