It’s always nice to make a client’s day go a little smoother, maybe with some kind words or on-point customer service.
But when it comes to brass tacks, saving a Fortune 500 client $54 million over seven years is the kind of service that pays for itself.
Fresno-based Occu-Med knows something about that level of customer service, which is why they have been honored with the Rising Star award by the Institute for Family Business at Fresno State.
Occu-Med is a global health care services and human resources consulting firm that provides deployment, pre-placement, periodic and return-to-work medical evaluations. They are the ones the federal government or private employers turn toward to determine if a potential employee is fit to complete a job.

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James Johnson founded Occu-Med in 1979, with an original focus on research and consulting. As interest in the company grew, Johnson expanded operations to include occupational medical clinic management, workers’ compensation cost containment, vocational rehabilitation counseling and more.
Two generations are currently running Occu-Med. Johnson’s wife Devonna Kaji is Occu-Med’s medical director, while their son Andrew Johnson is director of operations. The couple’s nephew, Jared Kaji, is Occu-Med’s vice president.
Occu-Med competes in a global market where family businesses are rare, so they pride themselves on running a values-driven organization, governed by the core values of quality, humility, diligence, integrity, customer service and positivity.
While based in Fresno, Occu-Med has a global reach. It has developed infrastructure to perform pre-placement medical examinations in more than 36 countries. One mission in Kuwait saw ten Occu-Med personnel perform more than 2,500 pre-placement medical evaluations, as well as staffing and training for 67 workers from around the world to operate the Troops Medical Clinic, Class VIII Medical Warehouse and Biomedical Engineering and Maintenance Shop at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
While the business has seen positive growth, it is planning for the future by diversifying its client portfolio. To put the shift in perspective, from 2005 to 2010, 90 percent of Occu-Med’s business came from two clients. Today, 90 percent of business comes from more than 30 different clients.
When not doing business around the globe, the Occu-Med family is a good steward of its local community. Each year Occu-Med partners with Fresno County Social Services to identify families with single mothers who could use some help during Christmas. Occu-Med contributes staff time and funding to provide the families with Christmas decorations, dinner and presents for the entire family. Occu-Med can help anywhere from 15 to 100 families on any given holiday.
Occu-Med staffers also love their four-legged friends, donating a one-year supply of dog food to the Fresno Bully Rescue no-kill shelter.