The Business Journal of Milwaukee - Illinois medical staffing firm plans six Wisconsin locations

By Ben Fischer

October 13, 2006

BrightStar Healthcare, a Lake Forest, Ill., medical staffing company,
intends to sell six new franchises in Wisconsin in the next 18 months,
including four in the Milwaukee area.

The company is in the midst of a nationwide expansion, hoping to grow
its current stable of 13 locations to 400 franchises and 40
corporate-owned offices by 2010. A franchise opened in Glendale in May,
and new offices will open in Appleton and Madison before the end of the
year.

BrightStar has two major lines of business -- nursing and cleaning
services for home-bound patients, and temporary and supplemental nurse
staffing for hospitals and nursing homes. Home health care is proving
to be a boom business, said owner Shelly Sun, as elderly patients and
their families look for alternatives to traditional nursing homes with
increasing frequency.

Sun, who owns the business along with husband, J.D., said they're
using a combination of profits from their existing corporate stores,
personal savings and bank loans to finance the expansion.
"We've been very well received in the Milwaukee marketplace, so we'll
be able to rapidly expand there," Sun said.

In addition to the Glendale location, BrightStar plans call for three
franchises in Waukesha and another on Milwaukee's south side. The
franchise fee is $35,000, with a total investment necessary of up to
$160,000.

Cory Schneider, owner of the Glendale franchise, 5261 N. Port
Washington Road, expects to turn a profit in October, the office's
sixth month of operation. He employs between 15 and 20 workers, he
said.

BrightStar bills private insurance companies and relies heavily on
referrals from nursing homes or hospitals. Medicare, the federal
government's insurance plan for the elderly and people with
disabilities, generally does not cover home health care services.

The facility staffing side of the business mostly consists of
providing nursing staff to hospitals and nursing homes. Supplemental
staffing makes up about 30 percent of the company's revenue, but is
three times more profitable than home care, according to BrightStar's
franchising Web site.

In addition to nurses, BrightStar employs medical assistants, nursing
assistants and phlebotomists, or blood technicians.