Business Executive of the Year

Diana Wright, founder of The Right Solutions of Tontitown, which staffs Health Care Professionals in all 50 states, was named Arkansas Business Executive of the Year in Little Rock on Tuesday evening.

As a nurse in the 1980s, Diana Wright always found herself in charge of managing the nurses' schedules.

"I was really good at it," she said. "And scheduling is not something everybody can do, so I wound up doing most of the scheduling every place I worked."

She then decided she could do the job full time and returned to school for an MBA degree. In 1996, Wright opened The Right Solutions in Tontitown and started scheduling nurses for one-day shifts at local hospitals.

The business took off, and now the company provides Travel Nurses, Respiratory Therapist, Surgical Technicians, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, Medical Technicians and Imaging Therapist all 50 states.

Wright said, in 2008, the company's bottom line profitability doubled the industry average. Also in 2008, the company had its best fourth quarter ever. Still, because hospitals are cutting back, 2009 may be the first year in the company's history that revenue will be flat, she said. Currently, The Right Solutions is a debt-free company, and is in great financial shape moving into the future.

In 2005, The Right Solutions became the sixth health care-staffing company to become certified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals and Diana herself sits on the Joint Commission Advisory Board.

Diana credits the employees for the company's success. The firm has 71 employees in the Tontitown headquarters and about 350 health care workers in the field.

Wright also said she has a close relationship with her staff. The close ties showed when the employees offered to take a pay cut if needed due to the economy. Wright didn't take them up on the offer.

Wright, who was also a finalist for Arkansas Business Executive of the Year for 2007, said one of the reasons her company has done so well is that she focuses on honesty, integrity, cost savings, and good relationships. The company Mission Statement is; "We will take care of all customers, do the right thing, and always strive for improvement."

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