"It used to be that a doctor would have no problem getting a business loan," says Dr. Eduardo Pignanelli, who founded Clinica Modelo de Especialistas nearly 20 years ago. The medical practice features two offices that provide care for the Latino community in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.

Dr. Pignanelli, also an instructor of clinical medicine at NYU Medical Center and at Columbia U. and assistant attending physician in the Dept. of Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital, sought to expand his practice and needed funding to do so. His revenues were about $7 million annually when he approached Biz2Credit for a new loan to construct an expanded facility. With Biz2Credit's help, he was able to secure nearly $4 million in funding and reduce his high cost of working capital by four percentage points.

Today, the business of running a practice is almost as important as practicing medicine. Dr. Pignanelli's new medical facility is serving thousands of patients, and his office is making important technological upgrades such as converting paper medical records to electronic files. He has created 30 new jobs in upper Manhattan, including medical and administrative staff, and his practice continues to grow.