History
Jeff Calibaba, Chairman & Founder
Jeff Calibaba literally built his first company, Access Medical Inc., from the ground up. In fact, it actually started from below ground. Operating out of his residence back in 1985, Calibaba, a Paramedic since 1984, wrote and produced the "EMS Pocket Reference Guide" for EMS personnel, which is today in its 15th printing with over 150,000 copies sold. The subsequent demand for this unique product prompted him to expand into the distribution of medical supplies, and Access Medical was officially founded in 1990, marketing and distributing emergency medical equipment and supplies to the EMS, Health & Industrial markets, primarily throughout Canada and the U.S.
The company operated out of Saskatchewan until 1994, when Jeff relocated to Edmonton, Alberta and Access added automated external defibrillators (AED's) to its increasing line and broad range of EMS products. From 1984 through 1998, Jeff continued to be a practicing Paramedic, holding various management positions, including Director of Quality Assurance for the City of Edmonton Emergency Response Department. By 1998, the distribution business of Access had grown to such a level that Jeff made the decision to leave the EMS & Fire Services field and he relocated again to Calgary, where he moved Access into office and warehouse facilities and dedicated himself to building the business full time.
By 2001, Access had grown its AED distribution base to the point where the company became an exclusive distributor for all of Canada (& third largest distributor worldwide) for Physio-Control, which at the time, was one of the top three defibrillator manufacturers in North America. Also in 2001, along with Darren Boser, Access Medical's AED Program Specialist, Jeff co-authored and patented "The HeartSave AwarenessTM Program," and the book "A Heart for the Community", which have been recognized as being instrumental in the placement of 1,000's of AED's and the creation of awareness of the need for this lifesaving technology throughout North America and Europe.
By 2004, Jeff had led and grown Access Medical to achieve recognition as one of the Profit 100 "Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies" in Canada. In recognition of his entrepreneurial leadership and vision, he was also the recipient of the Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation presented in Sydney, Australia in 2003, for the creation and development of the HeartSave AwarenessTM Program. Also in 2004, he was nominated for the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" and graduated from MIT's "Entrepreneurial Executive Masters Program" in 2005. Through the development and practice of a set of focused core values and his active participation in The Strategic Coach Program since 1996, Jeff was successful in building a long-term and loyal team of experienced "A-players", who continue to be dedicated and committed to both the highest level of customer service and implementing high quality products and solutions to save lives.
By 2006, when the company's successful marketing and placement of AED's & related solutions had grown to in excess of 5,000 units and became 85-90% of the company's distribution activities, Jeff and his management team made the decision to divest the medical supply division of the business to enable the company to focus strictly on the expansion of their AED products and solutions initiatives.
In the fall of 2006, Access entered into a distributor agreement with Defibtech, LLC, currently the third largest and fastest growing AED manufacturer in North America and creator of the LifeLineTM AED. In 2007, Defibtech was ranked first in the U.S. in the medical equipment industry and 7th in Deloitte & Touche's "Technology Fast 50 Program". In the spring of 2008, in addition to its Canadian contract, Access also achieved a major milestone in its operations by signing a U.S. distribution agreement with Defibtech.
Having a long term, experienced and loyal "A-player" team, a solid relationship with its manufacturer-partner, a growing and broad sector customer base, and with its unique ability of also providing solutions to support the implementation of AED's, Access Medical is confident in its ability to continue to assist in saving countless lives, and achieving its mission of becoming a premier provider of the highest quality of sudden cardiac arrest life-saving products and solutions throughout North America and beyond.
