As we move through the year 2021 and continue to celebrate our 50th anniversary in business, we believe it’s important to look back and recognize where we’ve come from as a company. Since our humble beginnings as a business forms provider in 1971, GBS has undergone tremendous growth and change and now operates in markets and industries throughout the world. Below is a brief summary of some of our major milestones and achievements as a company over the last five decades.
So, before we look ahead to the future challenges and hopeful successes to come, we take a moment to look back.
The 1970s:
Founded by Mr. Larry Merriman in the kitchen of his North Canton, Ohio home as a designer and printer of professional business forms in 1971.
Begins producing and selling filing products in 1974.
Begins offering computer technology solutions in 1978.
The 1980s:
Due to the invention of the PC, GBS expands its into new markets including Construction, Distribution, Municipalities, Credit Unions and Healthcare.
Begins technology partnerships with IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft.
Begins offering roll, sheet and fan-folded labeling solutions in 1981.
The GBS Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) begins in 1987.
The 1990s:
Becomes the first service company to receive GM’s prestigious “Mark of Excellence” award in 1990.
Opens its new Corporate Headquarters office in North Canton, Ohio in 1991.
Introduces the Sharetec core processing software system for credit unions in 1994, which is recognized as the fastest growing system in the industry in 1997.
Partners with CMS, a minority-owned business focused on value-added solutions to meet customer’s diversity spending needs in 1998.
Sells its 500th practice management system to healthcare providers across the country in 1999.
The 2000s:
Records its first sale of NextGen Electronic Health Records (EHR) software in 2003.
Begins offering FileBound document scanning and conversion services in 2004.
Opens a state-of-the-art Document Imaging and Conversion Services Center in 2005.
Recognized as a leading software developer and Value-Added-Reseller (VAR) of vertical specific software for the healthcare, credit union and government industries in 2008.
The 2010s:
Initiates a direct-to-customer paper program, The Paper Center, in 2015.
Enters into the Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) services industry for healthcare providers in 2016.
Begins the Year of Giving Initiative (YOGI) to formalize all GBS community involvement and charitable giving activities in 2018.
Launches the Smart Business Solutions podcast show in 2019.
The 2020s:
Partners with XRS Solutions to offer the Rocket Collector automated collection system in 2020.
Celebrates its 50th anniversary as a company in 2021.
The year 2021 marks an important milestone in the history of GBS. It was 50 years ago this year, in 1971, that GBS came into existence. The company was started by our founder, Mr. Larry Merriman, at the kitchen table in his home in North Canton, Ohio. Having recently lost his job and facing the challenge of providing for his young family, Mr. Merriman made the decision to strike out on his own and utilize his sales and business experience to meet a need he recognized at that time – providing customers with professional, customized business forms.
This was the genesis of GBS – recognizing the most critical needs of businesses and providing practical, technology-based solutions to meet those needs. The core values of outstanding customer service and attention to detail were built by Mr. Merriman into all of these solutions, and remain at the center of our business culture today.
As GBS began to grow in the early 1970s, Mr. Merriman quickly outgrew his kitchen table. Expanding steadily throughout Northeastern Ohio with facilities in North Canton, Stow, Malvern and Youngstown, the company’s reach eventually made its way into Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Missouri and Puerto Rico.
Although our business has changed tremendously over our half-century of existence, we still provide business forms to our clients today. We also offer customized solutions for the healthcare, financial and credit union, IT, automotive, manufacturing, education, government and retail industries – just to name a few. With more than 250 current employees throughout the country and revenues in excess of $100 million, it’s hard to believe that Mr. Merriman could have envisioned all of this 50 years ago. But, thanks to his courage, vision and leadership, GBS has had the pleasure of serving thousands of clients around the world with solutions to make their businesses better and their customers happier.
As we embark on our second half-century of success, we thank everyone – all of our customers and employees – that have made this journey possible. To read the entire statement on our 50th anniversary from our CEO and President, Eugene Calabria, click here.
In November of 2020, GBS launched a new Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) website, www.gbsrevcycle.com. This is a stand-alone site that complements our company website, where we house supplemental RCM information including product sheets, videos and podcasts.
The new site is a streamlined, simplified approach to presenting the solutions we offer to healthcare providers throughout the country that address the complex world of medical billings and collections.
The site highlights the most important aspects of our solution and presents an overall, comprehensive plan that can help providers maximize their collections and earnings, increase business efficiencies and allow more time for better patient care.
It also showcases the value-added services contained in the solution, which include custom reporting with streamlined data analytics, rules engines to clean claims prior to submission, a full system EHR/EPM infrastructure and user-friendly data analytics with interactive, real-time capabilities. All of these services are completely customizable to fit any RCM strategy, and work in concert to improve billings and collections processes and intra-office workflow.
Lastly, the new site contains testimonies from multiple GBS RevCycle clients, including Mercy Medical Center, Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center and the Eye Medical Center of Fresno. To check out all of those and so much more, visit the site at www.gbsrevcycle.com.
Since its inception in 1971, GBS has grown from a print distribution company operating out of founder Larry Merriman’s kitchen to the national company with diverse product offerings in different markets that we know today. While GBS has far outgrown the space and capabilities first offered from Larry Merriman’s kitchen, our employees have never lost touch with our company’s humble roots.
As a 100% employee-owned company, GBS employees have a vested interest in our company’s and our Clients’ success – and that goodwill extends to our employees and their families as well!
GBS’ Year of Giving Initiative (YOGI), a charitable committee of employees dedicated to helping the GBS family and our communities, launched the Larry A. Merriman Scholarship Fund in January of this year. The program, which was created in memoriam of our founder who placed a high value on education, is open to all GBS employee dependents pursuing higher education, whether they’re a recent high school graduate or already enrolled in a college, university, trade or vocational school.
This year, the scholarship was awarded to five highly qualified candidates who have gone above and beyond all expectations for personal excellence and academic achievement. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship to the school of their choice.
Please join us in congratulating the 2020 Larry A. Merriman Scholarship recipients!
Top Row (Pictured Left to Right): Caroline Downes, Kendall Sarbach Bottom Row (Pictured Left to Right): Laura Rodgers, Kendall Sarbach, Michael “Zach” Untch, Rachael Malizia
In just over nine months of launching our new podcast show – “Smart Business Solutions” – GBS has exceeded 1,000 total unique downloads. This is an accomplishment that we as a company are extremely proud of!
As podcasting continues to grow and gain in popularity, the number of shows and amount of content available to listeners is greater today than ever. According to PodcastHosting.org, a site that compiles and reports statistics on the current podcast industry, there are now more than 1 million podcast shows and 29 million episodes available for consumers to listen to. This is an absolutely staggering amount of content, especially when you consider that there are more than 30 times the amount of podcast shows available than there are movies and television shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney, HBO and Showtime combined!
With all of this content available to listeners, it’s easy for a new show to get lost in the media mix. But thanks to the entire GBS team, we’ve been able to carve out a niche in the business show market and establish a reputation for providing educational episodes and smart, meaningful solutions to companies of all sizes and industries.
Other statistics that show the growth and penetration of podcasts include:
75% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting”
50% of all US homes are podcast fans
16 million people in the US consider themselves to be “avid podcast fans”
55% (155 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast
37% (104 million) listen to podcasts at least once every month
24% (68 million) listen to podcasts on a weekly basis
80% of all listeners are between the ages of 12-54
74% of podcast users listen to podcasts to learn something new.
There are currently 19 different genres of podcast shows, with comedy, education and news being the most popular.
If you have not listened to our show yet, we encourage you to do so. We currently have more than 20 episodes published on relevant business topics ranging from technology, healthcare, print and labeling, data security, brand protection and credit unions.
New episodes are being produced on a regular basis, and can be found here or by searching “GBS” on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Radio.com and libsyn.com. You can also follow the show on Twitter (@SmartGBS) and Instagram (smart_business_solutions) for updates on previous and new episodes.
Sharetec System, one of the fastest growing core operating systems offering the technology of simplicity, is pleased to announce that Horizon Credit Union of Kingsport, Tennessee, has opted to implement the full features and functionality of the Sharetec Core Processing Solution.
When Horizon Credit Union set out to replace their existing system with a new and improved core processing solution, they had specific enhancement goals in mind. According to Beverly Boling, Horizon’s CEO, their financial institution required a smart solution¾one that would offer the perfect combination of an innovative core processing system and a knowledgeable, supportive service provider. “We were looking to greatly improve our credit union’s overall functionality to enhance our daily processes and the level of service we provide to our members. We also sought to achieve a better value for our investment,” states Beverly. “Therefore, when we learned about Sharetec’s long list of benefits, we took the next step and requested a demonstration. We wanted to determine if the system would fully meet our needs, and if the people behind the solution would adequately support us.”
In order to highlight the software’s innovative features and functionality and offer their support, the Sharetec team provided Horizon with thorough demonstrations and continued to address their key questions and concerns along the way. As the credit union had an opportunity to view the system’s vast capabilities firsthand, they discovered that Sharetec was highly capable of meeting their technical requirements.
As Horizon continued to explore Sharetec’s features and benefits, it became clear to their decision makers that more efficient processing would greatly reduce the time spent on manual and labor intensive tasks. Sharetec would also provide peace of mind by offering a lower base cost without any surprise rate increases. Additional benefits for Horizon would include the cost savings that would result from interfacing with a new debit card processor and an improved client support experience offered by the Sharetec support team.
Overall, Horizon’s decision makers were thoroughly impressed that Sharetec would be capable of meeting all of their objectives, including their firewall/IT specifications. They were especially pleased that they would be able to convert from their existing system and move forward with the innovative solution with a conversion date firmly in sight.
From the beginning, Horizon sought to find the ideal partner that would help them achieve their objectives. Thanks to Sharetec and its team of professionals, the credit union is now on the right path to successfully doing so. The core system will be used by the entire staff for all credit union processing, as well as interfacing to countless third-party applications and online/mobile banking software.
Dan Miller, Vice President, Sharetec, notes that his company is extremely pleased with their new business partnership and is looking forward to assisting Horizon in any way possible. “Stellar results are expected as our solution will significantly reduce Horizon’s ongoing costs for core processing software, while also providing exciting new efficiencies for its staff and cuttingedge, member-facing technology,” says Dan. “We know how vital it is for credit unions to succeed in this competitive industry, which is why we offer the most innovative solutions backed by strong service and support all with a return on investment (ROI) that credit unions can appreciate.”
Similar to how you take precautions to prepare and protect your home, the same measures can be applied to your School District’s “home”—the vital infrastructure which houses your most critical and sensitive data. In fact, the careful management of your “home” is essential to ensure the security of your School’s data. A well-managed infrastructure will also ensure that things are running smoothly for those who rely on the security and availability of your “home’s” vast network of information.
Security breaches and other harmful threats could place your School’s infrastructure at substantial risk. And without the proper foundation of products and services, you could be leaving the door wide open to serious threats that have the potential to jeopardize the security and availability of your School District’s data.
GBS’ Managed Technology Solutions offers a strong foundation of preparation and protection for your School District by safeguarding its vital infrastructure. Customized to meet your precise needs, our wide range of products and services is designed to insulate and ensure your system 24/7, guarding it from the potential risks and breaches that are becoming increasingly common, sophisticated and widespread.
For more information on how GBS’ Managed Technology Solutions can help safeguard your School District against harmful security threats, please contact us at 330.497.6728 or at marketing@gbscorp.com.
Nothing provides a greater threat to data security today than cyberattacks, where hackers use sophisticated methods and technologies to compromise all types of digital devices, including smartphones, tablets, individual computers and entire computer networks. If and when an attack succeeds, valuable data is breached and becomes available to the hackers, According to the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds (64%) of all Americans have had their online data and information compromised via a major data breech, and have been impacted in at least one of the following ways:
41% encountered fraudulent charges on their credit cards
35% received notices that sensitive information (ex. account numbers) had be compromised
16% said that someone had taken over their email accounts
15% received notices that their Social Security number had been compromised
14% said that someone had attempted to take out loans or lines of credit in their name
13% said someone had taken over one of their social media accounts
6& said that someone has impersonated them in order to file fraudulent tax returns
In addition, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reports that 1,632 data breeches were reported and tracked in 2017, leading to approximately 198 million records being exposed. In 2018, the total number of breaches actually fell to 1,244, but it’s estimated that more than 447 million consumer records were compromised. Businesses suffered the most breaches by industry, with a total of 571 (46% of the total number of breaches), while the healthcare industry fell victim to 363 breaches (29%).
EasySIGN is a simplified approach to collecting patient signatures, photos, and scanned ID cards at the Registration Center, bedside or anywhere from a mobile device. With EasySIGN, healthcare providers can quickly process patients and ensure that forms and consents are electronically signed and stored in the EHR for safekeeping.
Using a tablet and the hospital’s registration system, EasySIGN’s interactive forms are presented to the patient for completion and signature, and then seamlessly documented in the EHR. Providers can also (and easily) upload patient photos and IDs (drivers licenses and insurance cards), take payments, and get forms and consents signed, even at the bedside.
In addition, EasySIGN enables providers to register patients even when their computer network is down as well as allowing them to be able to reduce paper costs, enhance patient satisfaction, and increase return on investment with quicker registrations.
Features of GBS’ EasySIGN program include the following:
Patient Engagement is a collaborative, comprehensive strategy designed to provide improved patient care and lower total costs by directly involving patients in the medical decision making process. Effective patient engagement leads to:
Mutually beneficial partnerships between patients and providers
Better sharing of information on symptoms, conditions and treatments
Improved patient adherence to agreed-upon treatment plans
Greater patient willingness to participate in preventative care activities
Increased overall patient satisfaction with their Healthcare experience
Components of our comprehensive Patient Engagement Solution:
Automated Calling Suite – enables Healthcare providers to stay connected with their patients by sending automated phone calls, texts and emails with the right information to the right people at the right time
Patient Education – automated process that allows doctors to communicate with certain groups of patients with similar conditions that may be experiencing gaps in their healthcare
Patient Experience Surveys – provides service and condition related surveys and touchpoints to patients immediately following their doctor’s visit which allows providers to monitor, manage and react to their patients in real-time via tablet or mobile device
Electronic Signature – electronically capturing and processing all forms, consents and patient information that is stored in your EHR system
Contact GBS to learn how to better engage with your patients today!
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Privacy Policy
INTRODUCTION
GBS Corporation respects each individual’s right to personal privacy. We will collect and use information through our Web site only in the ways disclosed in this statement. This policy applies solely to activity at and information collected by GBS Corporation’s Web site.
WHAT THIS PRIVACY POLICY COVERS
This policy describes rights retained by GBS Corporation in regard to content (“Rights Information”), and covers how GBS Corporation treats personal information that we collect and receive, including that related to your past use of our products and services (“Privacy Information”). Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, email address, or phone number, and that is not otherwise publicly available.
This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that GBS Corporation does not own or control, or to people that GBS Corporation does not employ or manage.
Further, this policy describes specific rights retained by GBS Corporation for copyrighted materials and other intellectual properties contained within this site with regard to their protection.
GBS CORPORATION RIGHTS
GBS Corporation provides access to this site free of charge to provide information about GBS Corporation, its capabilities, products and services.
No materials on this site may be reproduced, altered or further distributed without GBS Corporation’s prior written permission.
All trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos and trade styles on this site are owned by GBS Corporation or its clients. Proper use is limited to use in connection with the products and services of the mark owner and no other use is permitted without the owner’s prior written permission.
In order to improve our business, GBS Corporation may buy or sell a company, or one or more of the companies in our corporate family may merge with or be acquired by another company. If we sell a business, we would probably transfer some or all of your information as a part of the sale, in order that the service being provided to you may continue. In that event, you will receive notice, through our Web site, of that change in control and practices, and we will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the purchaser honors any opt-out requests you might make of us.
We may also release information when we believe it is necessary and appropriate to comply with applicable laws or to protect the rights, property or safety of GBS Corporation, our employees, customers, Web site visitors, or others.
UNSOLICITED IDEAS
It is the policy of GBS Corporation not to accept or consider any kind of unsolicited creative, production-related ideas or other materials of related to our products or services.
We will not consider unsolicited suggestions or ideas because of the potential misunderstandings that may result. Please do not send any such materials for any reason.
If you submit ideas or other materials of any kind, please be advised that all such remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information submitted to GBS Corporation will become our permanent property. We will not be required to treat any unsolicited submission as confidential, and will not be liable for any use of it inside or outside of GBS Corporation, and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in future GBS Corporation projects, products, or improvements.
Without limitation, GBS Corporation will have exclusive ownership of all present and future existing rights to any and all unsolicited submissions of any kind, and will be entitled to use the said materials for any purpose without compensation to any other person creating or sending said materials.
INFORMATION COLLECTION
We collect information and use it to keep you informed about GBS Corporation, and to make your visit to our site as useful and informative as possible.
We are committed to safeguarding all personally identifiable information we obtain about site visitors, whether internal or external. The only personally identifiable information we collect via electronic mail, or our web site (including site(s) currently being maintained by trusted third-party providers,) is (1), that which is voluntarily provided by our visitors, and (2), that which is generally found within the user’s browser, for purposes of identification.
GBS may collect demographic data in order to determine out GBS may better serve our customers.
NON-PERSONAL INFORMATION
In some cases, we may collect information about you that is not personally identifiable. For example, our Web site may automatically recognize the domain name of the Web site, or the advertisement, which you clicked-through to reach our site (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account), but not the e-mail address of visitors to our Web site. The information collected is used solely for internal review and not shared with other organizations for commercial purposes.
INFORMATION COLLECTION METHODS
We collect this information through registration forms, voluntary forms, and automatic logging files. Some of this information is collected voluntarily, but information in logs is involuntarily. To receive some of our products and services, certain information is mandatory so that we can track who is getting them. Other information we request is optional.
INFORMATION PURPOSE AND DISSEMINATION
Tracking information is collected and analyzed so that we may improve our service offerings to our users. This tracking information is kept confidential. We will share personally identifiable information about you to other companies or people when one or more of the following conditions apply:
We have your consent to share the information;
We need to share your information to provide the product or service you have requested;
We need to send the information to companies who work on our behalf to provide a product or service to you. Unless we tell you differently, these companies do not have any right to use the personally identifiable information we provide to them beyond what is necessary to assist us;
We respond to subpoenas, court orders or legal process; or
We find it necessary to protect and defend our legal rights or property.
In addition, in the event of a transfer of ownership of GBS Corporation, such as acquisition by or merger with another company, we will provide notice before any personally identifying information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
COOKIES
This site employs the use of cookies. A cookie is a small text file that our Web server places on a user’s computer hard drive to be a unique identifier. Cookies enable GBS Corporation to track usage patterns and deliver customized content to users. Our cookies do not have an expiration date, meaning they expire when the user closes their browser. Our cookies do not collect personally identifiable information.
CHILDREN
This Web site is directed to adults; it is not directed to children under the age of 13. We operate our site in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and will not knowingly collect or use personal information from anyone under 13 years of age.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION USAGE
Registered users may receive additional announcements from us about products, services, special deals, and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications.
INFORMATION SECURITY
GBS Corporation takes appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data.
We restrict access to your personally identifying information to employees who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our services.
REVIEWING, UPDATING OR REMOVING YOUR INFORMATION
We provide this privacy policy as a statement of our commitment to protect your personal information. If you have submitted personal information through our Web site or interactive advertisement, and would like that information deleted from our records or would like to update or correct that information, please contact us at our e-mail address marketing@gbscorp.comand provide us with your name and postal address. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to make corrections or remove your name and address from future mailings.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
Please note this Privacy Policy will change from time to time. We expect most such changes to be minor, but there may be changes that are more significant. Regardless, we will post those changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we will also provide a more prominent notice. Each version will be noted at the top of the page.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us any time at marketing@gbscorp.com.
JURISDICTION
These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio, in the United States of America, regardless of where the user is based. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these terms shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in Stark County, Ohio, U.S.A., and you hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. If any provision of these terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. GBS Corporation can revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating this posting.
CONTACTS
