Archive: June 2005
Judge blames his foul mouth on sleep apnea
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A Cambria County district judge, who in May was chastised for using vulgar and sexually explicit language toward underlings, during a disciplinary hearing blamed his actions on the fact he suffers from sleep apnea. The sleeping disorder was one of several stressors that led to his crude behavior, he said. The American Sleep Apnea Association says on its Web site that "untreated, sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment," but doctors question if the impact of the sleep...
Famous architect joins Drive
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y -- Drive Medical Design & Manufacturing has hired a world-famous architect to break the mold of its reputation as a me-too manufacturer of durable medical equipment.
The company announced early last month that it would debut at Medtrade a new specialty line of HME products designed by Michael Graves, who has been hailed by one of the nation's foremost critics as "the most truly original voice American architecture has produced in some time."
"The image of [Drive] is that we...
GAO: FBI misued money pegged for fraud
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON -- Money intended for investigating health care fraud may have been misdirected by the FBI to other efforts, according to a report released in May by the General Accountability Office. The report said that the FBI was not capable of tracking the overall costs of its health care fraud investigations, and therefore could not determine where the funds were spent. The FBI apparently shifted money from the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program to fund counterterrorism activities after...
Apria CFO likes the national's market position
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Even though Apria's top brass wouldn't turn down a good acquisition offer (see story on page 1), they feel confident the company is properly positioned for future reimbursement challenges.
While Lincare generates the bulk of its profits from Medicare's fee-for-service home respiratory business, Apria has a much more diversified business portfolio, which includes dozens of managed care contracts. As Medicare moves to transition more beneficiaries to HMOs, Apria officials consider...
DeVilbiss loses chief
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
Rich Kocinski, a 21-year veteran of DeVilbiss who most recently served as vice president and general manager of respiratory products with the Sunrise Medical division, left the company in late May/ early June. Kocinski's resignation follows the departure of another high profile respiratory therapist, Nick Macmillan. Macmillan preceded Joe Lewarski as the AARC's home care chair and worked at DeVilbiss as the company's global product manager for sleep therapy. Macmillan now works at Rotech.
Smart Talk: Selling to referral sources
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
Q. I've gone over features and benefits of our services and products with referral sources until I'm blue in the face, but I still can't seem to get their business. How can I take it a step further?
A. Features and benefits are the cornerstone of every sales presentation in every type of sales process. Our industry, however, is a unique in that we have at least two customers to please -- the patient and the referral source. In most cases if we keep the patient quiet and happy, the referral source...
Dynamic Medical out across the West
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
LOS ANGELES -- Dynamic Medical Systems, a distributor of patient lift systems, wound management, seating and positioning, respiratory services, bariatric systems and homecare products, has signed 120 accounts in nine new markets across the United States: Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington and Montana. The expansion began in October of last year, cost an estimated $3 million, and is expected to generate returns of $5 million recurring annual revenue for the company....
Bruno to quit making scooters and power chairs
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
OCONOMOWOC, Wisc. -- Disappointed by low margins and offshore alternatives to their American-made mobility products, Bruno Independent Living Aids is winding down its power wheelchair and scooter business and regrouping on the greener pastures of its lift business.
Bruno has been quietly extricating itself from the market since January when the company began telling customers it would discontinue production of its three K0011 power chairs. In April, the company told customers it would stop making...
Flyin' high in Hollywood, Fla.
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Doug Sherron owns a resort on Great Harbour Cay in the Bahama's Berry Islands. His Tropical Divisions air charter service flies all over the Caribbean. And his yacht business makes boatloads of money. But these days, Doug Sherron spends most of his time running a full-line home medical equipment operation called TD Medical.
In November, the 19 year-old company moved into a new 15,000-square-foot location and in the past year more than doubled its business to $2 million annually....
Apple Homecare & Rehab: 'Number one in my book'
June 30, 2005HME News Staff
HOLDEN, Mass. -- With all the talk about fraud and abuse in the HME industry, companies like Apple Homecare & Rehab sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
"There are a lot of companies out there doing the right thing and they don't get recognized," said C.J. Pedersen, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central New England.
In late April, Apple Homecare was one of two companies in Pedersen's geographic district to be awarded the prestigious Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace...