Cape Medical makes wicked good buy

SANDWICH, Mass. - Cape Medical Supply expanded its reach across three states in June, when it acquired Kittery, Maine-based Seacoast Sleep Solutions.

"This is our first venture across state lines," said CEO Gary Sheehan. "Geographically, it's a nice expansion, and in terms of product categories, it lines up very nicely with what we do now."

Like Cape Medical, the six-year-old Seacoast--which has been renamed Seacoast Respiratory--offers sleep, home oxygen and durable medical equipment. Cape Medical has retained Seacoast's employees and plans additional hiring.

In July, Sheehan was already calling on referral sources

"We've been going in with a positive message about the level of service we provide and how we interact with healthcare professionals and their patients," he said. "So far, that's resonated really nicely."

It's the first buy for Cape Medical since 2005, when the company acquired the home oxygen business of Cape Cod Healthcare. In 2010, the provider opened a 5,000-square foot location in Canton, Mass.--its first move off Cape Cod.

With Medicare's competitive bidding program still casting uncertainty over the HME industry--Round 2 includes several MSAs in Massachusetts--Sheehan acknowledges he's doing the opposite of what many of his fellow providers are doing.

"Some people feel it's not the time to put money to work or not the time to go out and be getting things done," said Sheehan. "We take a different view of the marketplace in terms of how we are going to react and deal with the changes that are coming."

For Cape Medical Supply, that means paying attention to scale, size and its diversity of product offerings.

"Those are going to be critical for us to succeed in the next three to five years," said Sheehan. "As we see opportunities to continue to expand we will certainly continue to take them."