Photo by Ed Waters, Jr. Grove Resource Solutions Inc. has received a $20 million contract with USAMMA at Fort Detrick. The Frederick-based, woman-owned business offers an extensive array of services from information technology and financial management to logistics. From left are David Affeldt, president and COO; Milton Eldridge Jr., program manager, and Deborah Grove, founder and CEO. Purchase this photo

Grove Resource Solutions Inc. will provide support of the Integrated Clinical Systems program for USAMMA, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency.

The company, formed in 2000 by Deborah M. Grove, has been providing technical services and technology solutions to the Department of Defense and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, among others.

The company has more than 200 employees around the globe working on projects, many with the highest national security clearances.

The company's main focus is soldiers in the field, Grove said.

Although much of the company's contracts were connected to the medical field, GRSI has coordinated missile launch and satellite tracking projects as well.

Housed in a former six-car garage at Grove's home, the business has expanded so much she remodeled the basement of the house for offices.

The USAMMA contract will look at modernization of medical equipment. That includes compiling research data on how well equipment operates in challenging climates from sand and heat to extreme cold.

"We have an interesting recipe of folks at USAMMA," said David Affeldt, president and chief operating officer of GRSI. "There are career Army, nurses, physicians, information technology specialists, all working together." Part of the contract is to send GRSI team members on site to upgrade or inspect equipment so it meets the needs of medical personnel in the field.

Grove, who has worked for other government contractors, is founder and chief executive officer. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary's University and Hood College.

Some contracts GRSI has been involved in include a teleradiology system for the U.S. Navy. Medical personnel aboard a ship can take X-rays and send the image digitally virtually anywhere for advice or record-keeping.

"The same can work for dental care," said Beth Shepherd, director of customer and employee relations.

A GRSI team working in Charleston, S.C., is doing not only information technology and medical logistics, but coordinating the repair of medical equipment, doing financial tracking, cryptology and signal work for the Department of Defense.

Affeldt said the growth of the company has been controlled and targeted.

Four years ago it the company's revenues were less than $8 million. That grew to $16 million and the company projects $21 million this year, he said.

There are "several opportunities" he said of potential new contracts. "We are a relatively small fish in a big pond."

Grove said many employees have been with the company for years. In a field that traditionally has a big turnover, GRSI has offered benefits and opportunities for employees they couldn't find at big firms. The staff retention is 98 percent, virtually unheard of in many government contracting firms.

"We've had people who worked for billion-dollar firms that told us our benefits are much better," Affeldt said.

"It is important to keep good folks and we have good recruiters as well," Grove said.

The firm not only offers program management and financial management, but systems engineering, performance-based logistics, medical informatics and telemedicine, scientific and mission support and human capital management.

Grove is active in Women in Defense, an organization that promotes for those in the defense field from chief executives to administrative personnel and laboratory technicians.

"It is for networking and we give scholarships to someone who has contributed to the community in the science field," Grove said. "We call it Reach for the Stars. It is to get youth interested in the sciences and how they can give back to the community."

Women in Defense also offers a resource for career education for members.