Dermacare prepares Springfield clinic

Dermacare Laser and Skin Care Clinic plans to open Nov. 28 at 1902 E. Battlefield, Ste. A, next to Springfield Trust Co.

The clinic held an open house for invited guests Nov. 17.

The opening is part of the Goforth family’s plan to operate four franchise clinics in the Midwest.

As SBJ previously reported, Charles Goforth, his brother, Dr. Gary Goforthand Gary’s son, Steven Goforth, opened their first Dermacare clinic in Tulsa in August. The three also own the rights to open locations in Kansas City and Oklahoma City.

Co-owner Charles Goforth estimated the investment in the Springfield office alone at $250,000, including franchise fees and costs of renovating the space, which was formerly a doctor’s office.

That figure falls in line with Dermacare’s corporate Web site, www.dermacareusa.com, which reports average startup costs to be between $165,000 and $365,000.

Past experience

Goforth knows about operating a medical facility. He ran Oxford Healthcare from the time it opened in 1974 until it merged with CoxHealth in 1993, and he and his nephew, Steven, are partners in operating Oxford Healthcare’s Tulsa operations.

Charles Goforth recently had been traveling more and working less, but he said he grew bored and wanted to get back into medical service.

He began looking for something less strenuous than the day-to-day operation of a major health care system but still something in the medical field.

About a year ago, he read about Dermacare, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company which offers nonsurgical cosmetic services such as microdermabrasion, laser hair removal and acne treatment.

“We went around the country and looked at the various organizations involved in this type of business, and finally we found one that we felt comfortable with,” said Goforth, president of the Springfield office.

Physician-based

Many of the services that Dermacare advertises are offered by other groups in the Springfield area.

Dr. Keith LaFerriere is chief physician at Facial Plastic Surgery Center, which provides both nonsurgical and surgical cosmetic facial treatments. LaFerriere said his office’s ability to provide the full range of services is an advantage.

“I think they certainly cross over a fair amount into what we do, but doing the surgical side of it we’re able to provide a little bit more complete picture,” he said. “What they’re providing are definitely good services (but) we provide them and have for a number of years.”

But Goforth, said the setup – services supervised by a licensed physician – is unique in the nonsurgical cosmetics field.

“All of the staff who provide services are registered nurses, and that’s unheard of in our industry,” Goforth said. “I don’t know about locally, but nationally a lot of them aren’t licensed personnel. We want people who have years of experience in nursing, and we thoroughly train them to provide these services, both through teaching and hands-on, long before they see a patient.”

Carl Mudd, founder of Dermacare, told SBJ in August that the company is committed to making sure these types of procedures are performed with the proper level of care and experience.

“We’re a physician-based franchise,” Mudd said. “These are medical procedures, to be done by medical professionals in medical clinics.”