Provider Bill Fredericks turns morning radio host
By Elizabeth Deprey
Updated Mon April 25, 2011
MILLBURY, Mass. - When a local radio station offered provider Bill Fredericks a chance to buy some airtime on a Sunday morning to talk about home medical equipment, he decided to go for it.
"I'd never been on a radio show radio before as a guest, let alone had my own, so it's kind of fun," said Fredericks, owner of AllCare Medical in Millbury, Mass. "It's a call-in show, so you don't know what to expect."
The hour-long "AllCare Home Medical Hour" airs Sundays at 7 a.m. Fredericks starts the show with anecdotes about HME products and invites guests and listeners to discuss each topic or call in with questions. One week he had his 14-year-old son and 11-year-old neighbor on the show to talk about how HME allows a grandparent to stay at home.
Fredericks hopes the radio show will get listeners to see HME providers as a resource where they can learn about products or seek advice.
"I hope to really hammer home the fact that this industry is way beyond selling products," Fredericks said.
Fredericks hopes to eventually expand the program to include industry issues like competitive bidding.
"Ultimately, it's going to affect the people that are listening to the radio," Fredericks said. "It won't hit them until they actually have to go out and get products some day. Then all of a sudden, they're going to say, 'Where did this come from?'"
He plans to build his audience by offering a 10% discount to listeners who mention a code word mentioned on the show.
The show can be streamed online at www.crnradio.com.
Comments