Going on 37 years, the ColoradoBiz Top Company Awards are older than some of the founders whose businesses are now vying for the award.

It’s a distinction that hasn’t gotten any easier to win since the Top Company program was introduced in 1987 – nor any easier to judge.

In the end, 45 companies hailing from 18 Colorado cities were honored as either winners or finalists in 14 industries, plus the Startup category for companies five years old or less.

All the companies that put themselves out there and entered the competitive arena deserve credit for helping to keep Top Company the coveted honor it’s been for decades.

WINNER

Axis Integrated Mental Health | Aurora

Axis Integrated Mental Health combines psychiatry, therapy and depression treatment to accelerate healing and reduce costs for patients. Since opening its clinic in 2019, Axis has serviced thousands of patients and donated more than $200,000 in pro bono mental health care to the most vulnerable segments of society.

Colorado ranks 45 out of 50 states for mental health care, and nearly half of the state’s residents cite stigma for not seeking mental health support when they need it. This has made it difficult for Axis to find new patients and stay independently owned and operated.

The practice has overcome those challenges by streamlining the process patients use to find mental health treatment. With Axis, patients don’t need to know what their diagnosis is, what kind of doctor to go to or whether insurance will cover treatment. Axis accepts most insurance and answers all its patients’ questions during a 60-minute intake. Rather than prescribing medications, it works with patients to create a plan that works for them. Within one hour, patients are diagnosed, have an appointment booked with a therapist and have prescriptions called in to the pharmacy if needed.

When Axis interviews providers for joining its team, it asks questions to determine whether they will fit in with its culture. Axis wants to know whether candidates have true empathy for the patient experience — it doesn’t want people who have never struggled. Candidates also must have the strength to hold boundaries with patients and be a bit of a rebel.

FINALISTS

Revelation Pharma | Greenwood Village

Revelation Pharma is a national network of compounding pharmacies that provides innovative, quality and personalized pharmaceutical preparations, products and services in all 50 states.

The company builds patient and provider awareness by hosting educational webinars and providing clinical material and videos. The videos and webinars have increased awareness about different therapeutic lines and health concerns and have empowered patients and providers to use or prescribe compound medications.

Revelation Pharma also has contributed time and resources to building Consult RX, a national patient and provider consulting program.

Revelation Pharma has faced regulatory and compliance challenges in the short time since the company was founded but remains committed to providing high-quality compounds for all of its patients. To ensure it achieves excellence in quality assurance and quality control (QAQC), the company built a dedicated regulatory affairs and QAQC team that works with each operation pharmacy team in the Revelation Network.

By implementing a more structured and proactive approach to regulatory requirements, the company’s network stays ahead of the curve of US Pharmacopeia (USP) changes. With the dedicated divisions in the company’s network, it is building its reputation as a trusted and leading network of compounding pharmacies across the country.

NeuroBloom Counseling and Neurofeedback | Broomfield

NeuroBloom Counseling provides a medication-free, noninvasive solution for people struggling with mental health. The practice uses talk therapy and neurofeedback to train the brain to work more efficiently and effectively.

Neurofeedback helps people manage their symptoms by retraining the brain’s functionality. The treatment trains your brain to function more efficiently and affects things like attention and focus, emotion regulation, compulsive behaviors and learning.

NeuroBloom starts with a full assessment of a patient’s brain by conducting a qEEG, which shows parts of the brain that may be hyperactive or underactive. The qEEG also reveals whether there are regions of the brain that may not be communicating with each other efficiently.

From there, it develops a treatment plan specific to the patient and their brain. It also conducts other assessments to use as a visual measurement of patients’ progress during neurofeedback treatment. Changes are usually seen in the first eight to 10 sessions, with most people needing 32 to 40 sessions. The 45-minute training sessions are conducted twice per week.

The company was challenged by high turnover resulting from venture capital-backed mental health companies offering higher reimbursement rates but has been able to increase its benefits packages to keep employees on staff to increase the accessibility of neurofeedback to a larger group of clients.