Three Wire Systems - Falls Church, VA
Former Naval aviator Dan Frank climbed out of the cockpit of his Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler for the last time 19 years ago, trading his flight gear for a briefcase and business suit. 
The eight-year, service-connected disabled veteran attacked the business world just as methodically as he would a strike mission against an enemy target – quickly landing a job and working his way to a vice president of sales position for a major software company. With a great job and even better salary, one would think that Frank was on top of the world, but like all aviators he needed room to spread his wings.
“The job was great, but I needed more,” said Frank. “I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and when I saw the service-disabled program starting to take shape, I knew it was time to make my move.”
While attending a veterans business conference, Frank met Scott Denniston, director of the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE), an office within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that helps veterans start or expand businesses into government contracting. Following the conference, Frank began to take advantage of CVE services.
“All ‘vetrepreneurs’ should work with CVE,” Frank said. “They are ground zero for the service-disabled veterans business program and all things business related. Veterans should get to know them and what they can do to help.”
With some additional knowledge tucked away, Frank formed ThreeWire Systems, a multifaceted company providing construction, technology and program management services to the federal government. The company took off – landing a number of construction contracts.
But it wasn’t until he got wind of a VISN 12 service-disabled veteran-owned small business contract set-aside to support veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom that Frank saw an opportunity to make a contribution to his fellow veterans.
“When I saw the solicitation, it immediately struck me as something I just had to do and it immediately became a personal quest,” said Frank. All I had to do was figure out how I could get the contract.”
Frank’s company was more than qualified to handle the program management portion of the contract, but he needed a partner company with rock-solid clinical expertise to complete the requirements. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to turn.
“I met an MHN (a Health Net company) employee about four years ago and began cultivating a relationship,” said Frank. “Just because you can’t do business with someone today doesn’t mean you can’t work with them tomorrow. You have to be patient; relationships can take years to become fruitful.”
Frank brought MHN in as a subcontractor to fulfill requirements in which his company doesn’t specialize – creating a win-win situation for both companies as well as VA.
Partnering with VA’s VISN 12, they fielded the $1.95 million pilot program, penned VetAdvisor, to help identify veterans who may have a health problem that went undiagnosed prior to leaving the military.
VetAdvisor is a true outreach program which begins with a simple welcome home letter to service members after they leave the military. That letter is accompanied by a warm and friendly phone call to the veterans’ homes by a VetAdvisor customer service representative (CSR) to welcome the veterans home and to thank them for their service to their country.
Veterans who tell a CSR they are experiencing one or more warning signs are transferred to a licensed behavioral health clinician called a Care Coach when possible, or scheduled for a follow-up telephonic appointment.
Care Coaches use VA-approved screening protocols for depression, PTSD, TBI, suicide and substance abuse. If a veteran screens positive for one or more of the conditions, the Care Coach will transfer the veteran to a VA coordinator for enrollment in the appropriate VA treatment program.
“It’s not only a proactive solution to a problem, but also a total healthcare program,” said Frank. “We reach out to veterans, identify any problems, make sure they receive world-class healthcare and remain in contact with them to monitor their progress and recovery. We do it not because we are contracted to do it; we do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
In the short time the program has been under way, it has accumulated statistics that validate that some health issues go undetected when a service member leaves the military. After an initial 1,100 outbound calls, Three Wire found that 84 percent of all veterans contacted through VetAdvisor requested to be assessed by a Care Coach. Of those veterans, 90 percent were screened positive for some type of combat-related health problem and concurrently enrolled into the proper VA treatment program.
Frank attributes the initial success of the program as well as the ongoing success of his business, to attention to detail.
“In business, you must remain focused, but not too much,” he said. “You need to focus on the tasks at hand and be thorough, but not so focused that you lose the ability to remain open to new opportunities or a better way of doing things.”
When the VetAdvisor opportunity presented itself, Frank was in the midst of standing up his NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurements IV program office. Not exactly an opportune time for going after another major project.
“I could have easily let the program go by the wayside, but it intrigued me enough that I made time for both projects giving each the attention that they deserved,” said Frank.
The VetAdvisor contract started in September 2007 and extends to February 2009.
“With the success of the project so far, we are envisioning this could become a nation-wide program,” said Frank. “We are already looking at other technologies that will allow us to better serve veterans and their families.”
“This project is very close to my heart, and we will do all that we can for the thousands of veterans that need help,” said Frank. “From a business standpoint, we must always strive to find new and better ways to do business. It’s a competitive world out there, and every business needs that competitive edge. The more you bring to the table, the more success you will have, and ThreeWire will never come to the table empty handed.”
Written by Gary Hicks