HME News is the monthly business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. This controlled circulation publication reaches 17,100 home medical equipment services providers, including traditional HME dealers & suppliers, hospital- and pharmacy-o
Issue link: https://hme.epubxp.com/i/944166
Providers StateServe, Hospicelink merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Seventh Street Medical steps up for veteran . . . . . . . . . . 13 Q&A;: Tony Marsallo of Paragon Ventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 DASCO leverages Apacheta to gain efficiencies . . . . . . . 14 ■ The companies making acquisitions are looking for something special, says RIck Glass. See story page 1. Briefs Comfort Mobility Medical broadens product mix BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Comfort Mobility Medical has increased the number of lift chairs in its showroom to 24-30, all man- ufactured by Golden Technologies, the company has announced. Founder Patrick "Randall" Flack says he prides himself on knowing which lift chair is the best for each customer. "I personally test everything to understand how it works and who it will benefit the most, in terms of quality of life," he said. Comfort Mobility Medical also car- ries other products, including Inogen One's G3 portable oxygen concentrator. In 2018, the company has added a number of new products to its portfolio, including the Kal- mia Therapeutic Sleep System by Parks Health Products. Beacon transitions HME biz to Alick's SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Beacon Home Care is transitioning its medical equipment and supplies business to Alick's Home Medi- cal Equipment by the end of the month, according to the South Bend Tribune. The companies, which are both based here, are calling the change a "joint venture," the newspaper says. Beacon Home Care will retain its nursing, therapy, home health aide and other services. "We are focusing our energies on what Beacon does best," Heidi Prescott, a spokeswoman for Beacon Home Care told the Tribune. "Home medi- cal equipment is what Alick's does best." The 35 employees affected by the change have been offered positions at Alick's, ac- cording to the newspaper. Alick's also has locations in Elkhart, Plymouth, Michigan City and Mishawaka. The family owned business offers a full line of HME, includ- ing hospital beds, scooters, lift chairs and respiratory equipment. Aeroflow highlights success in 2017 ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Aeroflow Healthcare logged an annual sales growth rate of 146% in 2017, making it the company's best year yet. "By actively seeking new markets, expanding through its competi- tive acquisition strategy, and moving from a brick-and-mortar model to a pack, pick and ship model, Aeroflow continued its expansion geographically and in product lines," it stated in a press release. Other highlights from the year: Aeroflow saw a 17% increase in job growth in 2017, with plans to hire an additional 50 to 100 em- ployees in 2018; and the company pur- chased and renovated a new distribution facility, The Hite Fulfillment Center, that spans 35,000 square feet, consolidates all inventory and improves logistical ef- ficiency. Aeroflow also earned three rec- ognitions in 2017, including being named to Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list, and being certified for the highly coveted Great Place to Work Award. www. HME n E ws. C o M / MA r CH 2018 / HME n E ws 13 By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor W hen it comes to home medical equipment, t ony Marsallo has been there, done that. t he new managing director at M&A; firm Paragon Ventures was one of the co-founders of n ational Sleep t echnologies (now Sleep Ser- vices of America) and operated a successful retail medical prod- uct and supply company, among other things. "You have to keep learning and reading and paying attention," said Marsallo. " i t's easy to read about what happened last week, but you've got to look ahead at what's happening next week." HME N E ws: Are you feeling opti- mistic about the HME industry for the year ahead? Tony Marsallo: From our stand- point, it's pretty positive. t he companies that are still involved are survivors and probably run their business very well and have weathered the storm. All over the country, people i am deal- ing with now are talking about either acquiring or exiting, one of the two. HME: What's the first step a By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor FOSTER CITY Calif. – After a lengthy tenure at Apria h ealthcare, Lauren Barranti says taking the helm at the much smaller C h M e presents exciting new challenges. " i t's a great opportunity to go back to a very local health care operation and the service that we provide—there's fewer and fewer of us out there,'" she said. " i love the challenge and i want to make good on that whole cliche that health care is a local business and want to keep proving those services locally and grow this company." Barranti was promoted in January to president and C e O, succeeding industry By Tracy Orzel, c ontributing Writer F E A S T E R V I L L E , Pa . – S e v e n t h Street Medical Supply recent- ly donated a Golden t echnolo- gies power wheelchair to Bill Richardson, a Korean War vet- eran who had been featured by a local news station. After the segment aired, 8 7 - y e a r- o l d R i c h a r d s o n tripped over a coffee table in his apartment, where he lay for several days before help arrived. t hat's when Fox 29's Bruce Gordon emailed his longtime friend and president of Seventh Street Medical Sup- By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor TEMPE, Ariz., and BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After several years of fierce competition, a merger between StateServ h oldings and h ospicelink allows the combined DM e benefit manager to "dominate" in the hospice market. Combined, StateServ and h ospicelink will serve more than 100,000 patients daily through a network of more than 1,300 DM e providers and 21 distribution centers. "We looked at StateServ as a highly regarded peer in the market," said Chad t rull, founder and C e O of h ospicelink and president of the newly combined company. " e ither we were awarded the business or they were, so we felt like, together, we could do something special." StateServ and h ospicelink, which will operate as a portfolio company of Blue Wolf StateServ Holdings, Hospicelink join forces Capital Partners, which provided investment capi- tal to StateServe in Septem- ber, offer a full spectrum of technology-driven man- agement services, from automated orders to billing and collections to sales and marketing. t he model lowers some barriers to entry DM e pro- viders might face in serving the hospice market, says Paul DiCosmo, co-found- er and C e O of StateServ and C e O of the combined company. " t here's some operation- al efficiencies to be gained there, and the operating model itself can require a significant investment in labor," ply, Andy Scolnick. " i t was right around the holidays," said Scolnick. " i had this power chair here, so i responded right away." Founded in 1983, Seventh Street Medical offers bariatric, respiratory, orthopedic, and mobility equipment, as well as aids to daily living and dia- betes supplies, generating $2 million in annual sales. F ro m re p l a c i n g s t o l e n equipment free of charge to donating tires to arranging elevator repairs and fundrais- ing for childhood cancer, the Seventh Street Medical steps up New CEO wants to make good on cliche Marsallo: 'Still a lot of movement' provider should take when they decide to sell their company? Marsallo: You have to sit down and get over the emotional part of it. i t's difficult—you've been doing it for years. But once you get over the emotional part, it becomes black and white. t hen you can bring somebody in and have a very sophisticated analysis to tell you what this business is really worth, not what you think it's worth or what Cousin Char- lie thinks it's worth. Once there's agreement on that number, it's very doable. t here's a way to exit the business. HME: There's plenty of buyer appetite for niche providers, but what about for traditional DMEs? Marsallo: t here's still a lot of movement for companies doing lots of sleep with CPAP and BiPAP, and there's still a lot of movement with compa- nies that specialize in mobility. With oxygen, when the cost to purchase POCs comes down and reimbursement is more favorable, more units will be placed and it will put business owners in a more creative part of the business, not so labor intensive. HME B A R R A N T I s e e pa g e 1 4 M E R G E R s e e pa g e 1 4 S T E P u p s e e pa g e 1 4 sE v EN t H s tr EE t M E dical knows its patients by their names, not their HCPCS codes, says President Andy Scolnik . Q&A; on M&A; 'We're looking forward to making headway in new markets' Chad Trull Paul DiCosmo