Gary Woonteiler and his team of professionals at Woonteiler Ink were responsible for all aspects of the marketing and public relations program at Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology PC for well over a decade during my tenure as CEO. We experienced tremendous growth during that period, starting as a small group of 6 physicians in 2 offices and ultimately becoming the largest community-based cancer care network in New England with 30 physicians, a staff of over 300, and 11 cancer centers. Gary was a major force contributing to and facilitating this remarkable success during a very challenging time in the healthcare arena and in a very competitive environment. Woonteiler Ink initiated our marketing and public relations program with fundamentals such as strategic planning, logo, corporate identify, patient and professional brochure development, website, special events, and newsletters. He managed all activities, including writing, graphic design, production, and distribution.
With his guidance, we avoided traditional and expensive advertising and focused on projecting our core values of compassionate care, dedication to our communities, evidence-based medicine, state-of-the-art cancer therapy, and patient safety utilizing placement of articles in regional newspapers, TV and radio, as well as in national professional journals. This strategy gave us high visibility to multiple target audiences at very low cost. Gary’s charm, focus and excellent communications skills made his interactions with the wide range of our busy staff from corporate officers to physicians, nurses, office managers, clerical staff, and patients very productive. Woonteiler Ink projects were always on time and either on or under budget. As our practice grew, we developed cooperative relationships and joint ventures with a number of hospitals, insurers, HMOs, pharmaceuticals, and governmental agencies. Gary served as our liaison to their marketing and PR departments contributing to the success of these relationships.
Just one example of his many creative projects that directly helped us become viewed as a leader in the field was his development and production of the Journal of Community Oncology. This quarterly publication was distributed not only to referring physicians but also to hospital leaders, insurance company executives, and government officials and contributed to our reputation as a major authority in the field. A project of this size and complexity would normally be far beyond the ability of a physician group, but Gary leveraged his connections in the field and made it not only possible but also highly successful. This unique publication directly led to the development of a number of new business opportunities for us and to our inclusion in healthcare policy discussions at local, state, and national levels. It also led to national accolades.
The characteristics that best describe Woonteiler Ink include creativity, quality, professionalism, loyalty, efficiency, and discretion. Gary and his team at Woonteiler Ink were a delight to work with and I will always be grateful to him for his contributions to our success. His knowledge of business and of healthcare makes him a valuable asset to any client.
Walt Kagan, MD, Ph.D
Former CEO
Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology