In brief: AAHomecare names champs, Rotech makes buy

ATLANTA - Joey Tart and Billy Tart, co-founders of Family Medical Supply in Dunn, N.C., have been chosen to receive this year's Homecare Champion Award. The award recognizes AAHomecare members who have made exceptional contributions to the homecare community throughout their careers. “Their advocacy is helped by their community involvement,” said Beth Bowen, executive director of the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services, who nominated the Tart brothers, in a release. “Anyone who is an elected official in their district pays attention, because they are well respected and work hard. Joey and Billy are professionals when it comes to presenting their case, and presenting the industry's issues to people who may or may not understand those issues.” AAHomecare will present the award to the Tarts on Tuesday, Oct. 27, during the Stand Up for Homecare event at Medtrade. Family Medical Supply offers oxygen and HME at 17 locations in throughout central and eastern North Carolina.

Rotech gains 'critical mass' in Oklahoma

ORLANDO, Fla. - Rotech Healthcare has acquired the respiratory equipment assets of Tulsa, Okla.-based Home Health Warehouse. Rotech already operates in the area as American Medical Rental & Sales and will move that location into the Home Health Warehouse location. “This asset purchase not only expands our services in Tulsa, but also provides more critical mass and a larger footprint for quality patient care,” said Rotech CEO Tim Pigg. Rotech currently operates in eight markets in Oklahoma. Rotech made several acquisitions earlier this year, including four in February. Duckridge Advisors served as the M&A advisor to Home Health Warehouse.

Epic Health makes second buy in two months

DALLAS - Epic Health Services, a provider of pediatric skilled nursing, therapy and enteral services, has acquired Medco. The Houston-based Medco is a provider of enteral therapy, respiratory equipment and supplies, including diabetes, urological and wound care, throughout Texas and Louisiana. It also offers specialty pharmacy services. It's the second buy in as many months for Epic Health, which in *September acquired Chandler, Ariz.-based Option 1 Healthcare Solutions. Medco will combine with Option 1. With this latest deal, Epic Health will now serve 34,000 patients in 17 states.

Roscoe Medical, ARI ink web deal

MILWAUKEE - ARI Network Services has signed an agreement with Roscoe Medical to become the preferred website provider for more the manufacturer's network of more than 5,000 HME providers. According to the deal, ARI will offer providers exclusive Roscoe-branded product pages featuring more than 4,000 homecare products. "We look forward to working with ARI and providing a solution to our HME dealers to help drive more traffic, leads and sales, not only to their websites, but also to their brick-and-mortar stores," said Paul Guth, president and CEO of Roscoe, in a release. ARI's provider websites offer fully optimized search engines, a prescription refill module and secure online bill pay.

O&P stakeholders receive response from petition

YARMOUTH, Maine - O&P stakeholders are underwhelmed by the president's response to their “We the People” petition asking the White House to rescind Medicare's proposed coverage requirements for prostheses. It took only 17 days for 100,000 people to sign the petition, the number required to prompt a response from the president. Part of the response reads: “The coverage determination process is still ongoing, but CMS wants to make clear that they're committed to providing high quality care to all Medicare beneficiaries. They also wanted to make sure you know that HHS has met with stakeholders on this important issue, and both CMS and its contractors understand the questions that have been raised about access to the right prosthetic care. We will be in touch with another update.” Stakeholders point out that the response comes 60 days after the petition hit 100,000 signatures. “While we remain confident that the final resolution of this draft LCD will be a favorable one for the O&P professional and the patients we serve, the question remains: Is the 'We the People' promise merely PR fluff, or will it ultimately prove more substantive? Whichever, it clearly does not reflect timeliness, fairness and responsiveness,” stated the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association.

PMDRX in running for $250K in funding

GLENDALE, Ariz. - PMDRX has been named one of 25 semifinalists in the Arizona Innovation Challenge. The Arizona Commerce Authority will now select six winners and award them each $250,000. The challenge is a bi-annual business plan competition for promising early-stage companies in high-growth industries. A panel of judges narrowed down 131 applicants to the 25 semifinalists based on a set of criteria that included technology potential, marketing strategy, quality of management team and economic impact. PMDRX, based in Glendale, Ariz., is among companies from California, Ohio, Utah and Virginia, participating in the challenge. Fifty-six percent of the companies, like PMDRX, are IT and software related.

Medtrade short takes

Cairewill launch its FreshAire customer portal at Medtrade next week. Attendees will be able sign up early at booth 1419. The portal offers a clinical and patient knowledge center; exclusive monthly discounts; and a frequent buyer program�Breathe will launch its latest app at the show. The app, available for iPhone and Android, allows users to capture electronic physician signatures directly on their mobile devices. Breathe is at booth 1600�NOVO Home will debut the Serta Perfect Lift Chair Collection at booth 1045. Check out the chairs and meet the Serta sheep on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Medtrade takes place Oct. 26-29 in Atlanta.