It is hard to fault people who think of a local nonprofit in terms of an after-school program, a nearby health service, or a conservation group protecting land from development. But, in reality, nonprofit organizations come in all shapes and sizes. And they also have very different missions, skill sets, and competency levels to serve the public.
Indeed, the nonprofit world is just as varied as the for-profit world, ranging from a neighborhood group improving playgrounds to highly technical research centers. The only difference, of course, is that the return on investment is tied directly to the public’s welfare rather than the value of stocks bought or sold.
All of that is important to understand when one looks at an organization like Talbot County’s Qlarant. On the face of it, Qlarant looks like a highly successful service provider that employs hundreds of trained professionals who work with large corporations and government agencies from well-appointed offices. But when you look a bit deeper at its history, leadership, and products, one begins to understand how this well-run enterprise is a shining example of what a nonprofit organization should be.
In short, Qlarant fights fraud. For over 45 years, the Easton-based organization has developed into one of the most sophisticated providers to hospitals, health centers, and private medical practice of services and software that save millions of dollars every year from con artists and scammers trying to work the system. And over those four and half decades, Qlarant has also deployed ways to use these systems in various corporate and government agencies well beyond the health field to improve the quality of those entities. The business provides the ability to contribute over $400k annually to charities throughout Maryland and D.C. via the Qlarant Foundation.
It takes an exceptional individual to lead the board of such a complex organization, and Qlarant found such a person in John Murray.
With a lifelong passion for law, legal assistance, and healthcare for l0w-income families, the University of Virginia law graduate and Miles and Stockbridge partner became familiar with the challenges in the healthcare industry while working as legal counsel for Talbot County’s Memorial Hospital. Beyond his primary duties, which included the eventual merger of the hospital with the University of Maryland Medical System, John saw firsthand how fraud, waste and abuse can steal away critical resources from these vital services.
John eventually joined Qlarent’s board and was just elected its Chair in January of this year.
The Spy sat down with the new Chair last week to talk about his journey in law and health and his impressions of one of the Mid-Shore’s most successful nonprofits.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Qlarant please go here.
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